[Watch] KL Rahul departs for a duck in 2024 IND vs NZ 1st Test
KL Rahul departed for a duck in the first Test between India and New Zealand at his home ground, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Day 2 (Thursday, October 17). The right-handed batter perished after playing six balls, leaving the hosts in a spot of bother at 33/5.
The dismissal came in the 23rd over of India’s first innings. William O'Rourke bowled short of a length ball down the leg side and KL Rahul tried to leave it at the last moment but managed a faint edge. Tom Blundell completed a regulation catch at leg slip.
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KL Rahul had recently returned with scores of 68, 22*, and 16 (latest first).
New Zealand reduce India to 34/6 at Lunch; four players depart for duck ft. KL Rahul
A clinical bowling display helped New Zealand leave India struggling at 34/6 at Lunch on Day 2. William O'Rourke starred with the ball, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal (13 off 63), Virat Kohli (0 off 9), and Kl Rahul (0 off 6). Meanwhile, Matt Henry got rid of Sarfaraz Khan (0 off 3) and Ravindra Jadeja (0 off 6). Meanwhile, Tim Southee cleaned up India captain Rohit Sharma for two.
At the time of writing, Rishabh Pant (15 off 41) is at the crease. Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to join him in the second session.
This is the second time India batters have shown vulnerability in consecutive Test series. They were previously reduced to 144/6 against Bangladesh in the first Test.
New Zealand are yet to win a Test series in India. They are coming on the back of a 0-2 series loss in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, India beat the Kiwis by a 1-0 margin on the 2021-22 tour. They recently completed a 2-0 clean sweep over Bangladesh.
Team India are currently atop the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table with eight wins in 11 games with a win percentage of 74.24. The Rohit Sharma-led side would be keen to consolidate their place ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia later this year.
On the contrary, the Kiwis are fifth with three victories in eight Tests with a victory percentage of 37.50.
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