Of late, KL Rahul has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The opening batsman has got ample chances in recent times but has failed miserably with the bat. He was dropped for the third Test against Australia but made an unexpected return to the playing eleven for the ongoing fourth Test in Sydney.
A chance in Sydney would have been impossible for Rahul but it came only because Rohit had to leave. However, the Karnataka star failed to grab the opportunity and could score only 9 before being sent back by Josh Hazlewood. Rahul looked uneasy at the crease and could last for only six deliveries. Hazlewood dismissed him for the fourth time in his Test career – the joint most along with Stuart Broad and Nathan Lyon. In his six-ball stay at the crease, Rahul got two boundaries as he kept edging the balls.
Unsurprisingly, he faced severe criticism from all around. However, on Saturday, he would have made quite a few fans with a remarkable display of sportsmanship. A rivalry that has seen many an example of players crossing the line on quite a few occasions, Rahul showed what this game is all about with his honesty.
The incident took place in the fifteenth over when Australia opener Marcus Harris tried to hit a Ravindra Jadeja delivery over the top. However, he ended up miscuing the shot and the ball ballooned towards mid-on. Rahul came running in and dived across to take the catch which looked clean at first. In fact, Jadeja had started his celebration before Rahul signalled that it was not a clean catch. A shocked SCG crowd and umpire Ian Gould were quick to applaud Rahul’s sportsmanship.
Here is a snippet of that incident:
A good effort from Rahul and he immediately says it bounced. Great stuff. Umpire Gould a big fan of it #CloseMatters#AUSvIND | @GilletteAU pic.twitter.com/7nA0H5Lsc7
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 4, 2019
Meanwhile, Australia have started well with the bat in reply to India’s first innings total of 622 for 7. At lunch, they were 122 for 1.