India vs Australia, 2nd Test: KL Rahul equals Sunil Gavaskar’s unwanted record after being bowled by Starc

Indian batsman, KL Rahul’s misery in the Test format continued as he was dismissed by Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc in the very first over of India’s second innings in the ongoing second Test at the new Optus stadium in Perth. As India resumed batting almost at the stroke of tea, Starc bowled Rahul for an embarrassing duck as he managed to equal the unwanted record of Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar in the format.

After Australia were folded meekly in the session after lunch, India resumed batting eying a challenging target of 287 runs. And in pursuit of what had been considered tough for India (based on statistics), the team lost Rahul in the fourth delivery of their second innings.

Starc delivered a length ball with a hint of a swing while Rahul was in a dilemma between playing the ball or leaving it. He opted to leave the ball, but was too late to come to a conclusion as the ball hits the ball, deflected off it before rattling against the stumps. Australia were handed the ideal start as Rahul walked back for a duck.

Rahul has now been dismissed ‘bowled’ seven times out of his last 11 Test innings. And with the dismissal, he equalled Gavaskar’s record – Indian openers dismissed ‘bowled’ most times in both the innings of a Test – thrice. While for the legend, it spans over 125 Test matches, for Rahul, it has been in only 33 Tests.

Rahul has now recorded only 468 runs in 22 innings in 2018 at an average of 22.28, which stands as his worst since his debut year of 2014. His best performance this year includes – 54 in the one-off game against Afghanistan and 149 at the Oval against England. The duck on Monday may clearly hint towards a temporary pause to his Test career.