A frown replaced KL Rahul’s smile. He was batting without fuss in Nagpur
for his 20 before a moment of misjudgment ended his stay. He stared
heartbreakingly at the rough from where the ball had leapt. For he knew
that another failure would raise the volume of criticism against him. Since
his last hundred — an attritional 123 against Kagiso Rabada and Co in
Centurion, when no other batsman of either side managed half as many runs
in the entire Test, runs have dried up.In 10 innings since, he had hoarded only 180 runs, and combined with
middling returns in white-ball formats, his spot has been subject to
incessant scrutiny. Not least because he has displaced the brightest young
batting talent in the country, arguably in the world, who in two weeks had
peeled out hundreds in all formats.
for his 20 before a moment of misjudgment ended his stay. He stared
heartbreakingly at the rough from where the ball had leapt. For he knew
that another failure would raise the volume of criticism against him. Since
his last hundred — an attritional 123 against Kagiso Rabada and Co in
Centurion, when no other batsman of either side managed half as many runs
in the entire Test, runs have dried up.In 10 innings since, he had hoarded only 180 runs, and combined with
middling returns in white-ball formats, his spot has been subject to
incessant scrutiny. Not least because he has displaced the brightest young
batting talent in the country, arguably in the world, who in two weeks had
peeled out hundreds in all formats.
His latest failure raises the question ahead of the second Test in the
Border Gavaskar Trophy — whether he deserves another shot at redemption.
Perhaps he does, at least for the singular reason that he is already one of
the most successful openers of his country abroad. No India opener has
scored a hundred in South Africa, England, and Australia. Of course, all
hundreds are equal, but some are more equal.
