Perth (Australia): Indian batter KL Rahul crossed the milestone of 3000 Test runs during the opening day of the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The 32-year-old batter reached the landmark in 54 matches with an average of around 34 laced with eight hundred and fifteen half-centuries. Rahul became the 26th Indian player to reach the feat in Test cricket. Rahul smashed a cover drive against Australian skipper Pat Cummins to achieve the landmark.
Rahul looked in good touch before being dismissed on a delivery from left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc. During his stay at the crease, he played a knock of 26 runs from 74 deliveries. Rahul was adjudged not out by the umpire early but a review from Australia overturned the decision.
The dismissal of Rahul sparked some controversy as he was seen shaking his head in disappointment. Former Australia cricketer Mike Hussey questioned the decision from the third umpire, hinting at the possibility that the snicko might have shown a spike from the ball hitting the pads.
Rahul opened the innings for India along with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed the fixture due to personal commitments. The right-handed batter was dropped midway in the series against New Zealand after the first Test but earned a recall for the second red-ball fixture between India A and Australia A.
Apart from his Test achievements, Rahul has amassed 2,851 runs in the ODIs and 2,265 runs in the T20Is. He played a crucial role in India’s journey to the final in the ODI World Cup 2023. Also, the right-handed batter was top-scored for the team in losing to Australia in the title clash.
