KL Rahul's biggest challenge ahead of Australia vs India 1st Test

Indian batter KL Rahul will face the Aussie test ahead of his Indian teammates as he has travelled before the rest of the squad to play in India A's match against Australia. This will provide him with some practice ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which begins on November 22.

 

Scott Boland ready to face KL Rahul

 

Australian pacer Scott Boland, who will be up against KL Rahul in the match against India A, expressed his views on facing the batter and is optimistic about claiming his wicket.

 

"I was lucky to bowl to him in a Test over in India a couple of years ago, but it'll be nice to play against him in our backyard," he said. 

 

 

"He's a world-class player but someone I think we can get on top of pretty early and hopefully stay on top of him for the majority of the summer," he added.

 

Rahul, who has an average of only 20.77 in Australia from five Tests, despite scoring a century at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in 2015, could be in line for selection in the first Test in Perth if Rohit Sharma is unavailable due to personal reasons. Boland is keen to make an impact against him.

 

Like several Australian players, Boland acknowledged India’s 3-0 defeat to New Zealand but cautioned against overinterpreting the result. The visiting fast bowlers dominated in the first Test, while the spinners took control in Pune and Mumbai, ultimately securing a historic whitewash.

 

"There's so much more bounce here, more seam," Boland said. "The way they'll structure their team will be completely different from what you see over in India."

 

Rohit Sharma on not playing a practice match ahead of the series

 

Skipper Rohit Sharma also spoke ahead of the series down under, discussing the team’s preparation.

 

"I think sometimes when you play that practice match, we're travelling with a squad of 19 players, and it was only three days that were allotted to us," Rohit said. "And I don't know how much workload we can get done in those three days in terms of getting everyone prepared.

 

"So, as a management team, we feel that rather than having that, the match simulation where the batters can spend more time in the middle, batting in the middle, and then the bowlers as well can bowl a lot of balls, is something we feel more comfortable with. Rather than playing a practice game, because game time is not a problem. All of us have been playing a lot of cricket. So it's just about spending time in the middle."