Sunil Gavaskar Praises Exceptional Batting by KL Rahul, Compares His Technique with Murali Vijay

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on KL Rahul as he opened for India during the third Test against Australia in Brisbane. Gavaskar spoke about Rahul's extraordinary technique and balance at the crease during the test match. Rahul, who scored a solid 84 runs on Day 4 of the match, displayed an exceptional level of skill, particularly in his off-side judgment. His ability to tackle Australia’s fast bowlers on a challenging pitch was a point of focus, and Gavaskar highlighted his technique as one of the key reasons for Rahul’s success in the innings.

Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar praised Rahul for his composed approach against Australian pacers, particularly those at the Gabba; a ground known to present pace and bounce. " KL Rahul's judgment outside the off-stump was spot on today," Gavaskar opined. "Apart from the first ball where he slightly followed the delivery, Rahul's ability to leave deliveries that were close to the off-stump was superb." This particular aspect of Rahul's game reminded Gavaskar of the playing style of some of the greats, including former Indian opener Murali Vijay who was known for his sound off-side judgment. Like an Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne who had shown similar skills while batting in the previous game Gavaskar also cited an example of KL Rahul while taking decisions on the field that made his innings all the more impressive. The opener with skillful leaving of the deliveries and sharp decision made helped him to navigate Australia's fast bowlers attack. "KL Rahul's ability to play the ball late and the precision to leave balls was great in building his innings, felt Gavaskar.". "In conditions like these, where the ball swings and moves off the pitch, this is a level of patience and skill that is required to thrive." Gavaskar said Rahul's technique was critical to his success on a pitch known to challenge even the most seasoned batsmen.

Gavaskar also talked about how Rahul's technical capability of handling deliveries just off stump showed the patience required in top-level cricketing. Rahul's ability to continuously leave balls, especially at the toughest of times for cricket, was a clear evidence of his mental strength and cricketing maturity. That kept him away from playing false shots. And it made him construct his innings quite so easy, which left onlookers and experts alike just gob-smacked at this serene attitude.

Contrary to it, the Australian team witnessed another bitter fall as the pacer Josh Hazlewood departed for the rest of the Border Gavaskar Trophy season due to a right calf strain. This happened in the third Test in Brisbane, where Cricket Australia officially announced that Hazlewood will not be playing in the series. On Tuesday, Hazlewood bowled only one over; he walked off after what is reported to be some discussions with team captain Pat Cummins, elderly player Steven Smith, and the team physio. On scans taken afterward, it was determined the injury was more serious than previously thought and Hazlewood would miss the rest of the Test and the series.

This is a huge setback for Australia as Hazlewood has been one of the most essential members of their bowling team. The loss of this experienced pacer will be a gap in the Australian bowling line-up, and that will definitely be felt while taking on India in the rest of the series. This is the worst possible time for injury to strike, as the match has been finely poised and Hazlewood's absence forces Australia's pace department to play a little adjustment game wherein the responsibility of leading the attack has to fall on other bowlers like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

For the third day in test for Australia against India, a day dominated by KL Rahul in an 84 run, showed not only much prowess, but also has skill. He is displaying capability when under pressure on stage that he has displayed more to talk about India as India look to maintain an uphill effort and stay competitive during their run in the match of Test series.