T20 WC: KL Rahul, Karthik among players to practicing indoors ahead of Bangladesh clash
Nov 01, 2022
Adelaide [Australia], November 1 : With Team India taking their practice session indoors due to ups and downs in rains in Adelaide, opener KL Rahul and wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik were seen sweating it out in the nets on Tuesday.
KL Rahul, who has been battling indifferent form in this tournament, did plenty of batting practice. He also had a throwdown session with batting coach Vikram Rathour under the watchful eyes of head coach Rahul Dravid. He was also captured having a conversation about the game with star batter Virat Kohli, who also sweat it out in the nets to prepare himself to take down Bangla Tigers with his rich run of form.
In his three appearances in the tournament, KL has failed to cross the single-digit mark and has managed scores of 4,9,9 in the tournament, a total of 22 runs at a poor average of 7.3.
Throughout this year, KL missed a lot of action due to COVID-19 and injuries. In 13 matches this year, Rahul has scored 328 runs at a sub-par average of 27.33. Four half-centuries have come out of his bat, with his best individual score being 62. His strike rate this year is 121.03, which is not considered good for the 20-over format.
Dinesh Karthik's presence in the nets session also gives an indication that the 'Finisher' is fit enough to feature in Men in Blue's next match against Bangladesh, though the final call is in hands of the management.
He did a great amount of batting practice. Following this, he did wicketkeeping practice with the help of some local spinners, keeping in mind the slow, spin-friendly conditions in Adelaide.
Spin bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin also did some batting practice, also utilising a throwdown session to up his batting skills. He also did bowling practice. The spinner could prove to be vital for Men in Blue in Adelaide's spin-friendly conditions.
Another spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel was captured doing some batting practice.
In-form batter Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Harshal Patel were also seen practicing in the nets.
Coming to India's match, the Men in Blue are heading into the game after a five-wicket loss to South Africa. On the other hand, Bangladesh won their previous game against Zimbabwe by three runs.
India is in the second position with four points and two wins in three matches. Bangladesh is in the third position with four points and two wins in three matches.
