IND vs WI: KL Rahul flops again, but Bangar confident of redemption

A dejected KL Rahul walks back to the pavilion after being dismissed for 4 in Uppal on Saturday. Pic/AFP

The 10th ball that KL Rahul faced during his 25-ball four on Saturday must have created a lot of anxiety in the Indian camp. Shannon Gabriel aimed to exploit Rahul's biggest weakness - the in-swinger.

The ball shaped in well, threatened to go through the gate but Rahul got an inside edge which could have gone on to hit his stumps. Batting on four, the Indian opener survived and the Indian camp breathed a huge sigh of relief. Rahul appeared to be out of form as Prithvi Shaw went hammer and tongs to bring up India's 50 with his contribution being 34.

Sanjay Bangar

Rahul was clean bowled (another common mode of dismissal for him) by Jason Holder for no addition to his score. He seemed to have been caught in two minds - to leave or play - as he dragged one on to his stumps. Ahead of this Test, Rahul was seen practising in the nets with dotted lines on the pitch. His efforts did not bear fruit and Team India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar admitted there was a problem with the opening batsman. "Yes, he has had issues with balls coming in to him. He's working on it really hard. Batsmen tend to think a lot about away going balls and at times and forget to concentrate about straighter balls or ones which generally pitch on stump line. Those are things which we are working on," said Bangar.

"If he gets out after reaching the 15 or 20-run mark, then the cause of concern is more serious. From my point of view, what is more important is that he is concentrating and expecting balls to pitch on stump line and taking it from there," he said.

Bangar was quick to dismiss talk about a technical flaw in Rahul's batting. "I don't think there's too much of a technical fault. We have been speaking a lot about expecting the ball to be pitched on stump line. He has had very, very small patches where he has not got runs for the team. So, when such a patch comes, it's very important for the team and from my point of view, that his mind is not clouded. That can happen pretty soon at this level - when you start to doubt your abilities and methods," said Bangar.

Also Read - Ind Vs WI: It's Back To The Nets For Struggling KL Rahul

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