22 Sept 2022: As promised, Lokesh Rahul has shown in his work. After his poor performance in the Asia Cup, people questioned his strike rate. He had to face this question in a press conference before the match started in Mohali. Rahul listened to the question with some discomfort and said that he is trying to overcome this weakness and the field will soon reflect his efforts.
His words are truly reflected in Mohali. In the first T20 match on that day, Jos Hazlewood did not give Rahul space to open his hands in the first over of the Indian innings. But when Auji bowler bowled the ball on the same line in his second and third overs of the Indian innings, Rahul quickly moved towards the off-stump and flicked the ball over the square-leg boundary. Hazelwood stared in disbelief.
Ever since Lokesh Rahul returned from injury in the recent past, there has been criticism that he is unable to give the team a quick start like the rest of the world’s openers. Stats say Rahul has played 17 T20 matches since January 2021, in which he has faced 216 balls in the power play. This included 98 dot balls, which is not expected from the current generation of T20 openers.
But Rahul promised that he is trying to overcome this weakness. His words were reflected in Mohali when he bowled just five dot balls in the power play. He scored 55 runs with 4 fours and 3 sixes while maintaining a strike rate of 157.14 in the first T20 match of the series against Australia.
But unfortunately Rahul’s innings could not bring victory to the Indian team in the end. Auji opener Cameron Greene’s devastating innings saw India slip out of the match early in the second innings. Akshar Patel tried later but to no avail. Indian fans will be hoping that Rahul’s excellent form from the last match continues in the T20 World Cup and the matches before it before they face Australia in a life-or-death match in Nagpur.
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