KL Rahul got out for 26 from 37 balls in Karnataka's Ranji Trophy match vs Haryana at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. Rahul entered the field to bat at number three and, before being dismissed by bowler Anshul Kamboj, he and captain Mayank Agarwal joined a 54-run partnership for the second wicket. Rahul is participating in his first Ranji Trophy game since his last game against Bengal in the Eden Gardens quarterfinal in February 2020. In that match, he scored 26 and 0 runs, and Karnataka lost by 174 runs.
Due to an elbow niggle, Rahul was unable to play in Karnataka's last Ranji Trophy match against Punjab this season. He played for India A in a losing match at the Duleep Trophy in September of last year, which was his final domestic first-class participation. Third-placed in Group C, Karnataka is in a vulnerable position ahead of the knockout stages and will need to defeat table-topper Haryana outright to maintain their tournament chances. Additionally, it will hope that Kerala does not defeat bottom-place Bihar outright.
Rahul fails on Ranji return
KL Rahul has become another big name like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal who failed to perform on their much-awaited return in India's top domestic tournament, the Ranji Trophy. KL Rahul is one of the main players in India's squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. He was also an instrumental part of India's campaign in the ODI World Cup 2023, where they qualified for the final.
Whereas, fans will have to wait a little more to see Virat Kohli in action as Delhi won the toss and elected to bowl first. However, fans have flocked to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in massive numbers just to have a glimpse of the legendary cricketer who is making his Ranji Trophy return after 12 years. Virat will be eager to mark this comeback with an astonishing knock.
Shardul continues to shine amid Kohli, Rahul return hype
At the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai on Thursday, January 30, Shardul Thakur continued his stellar run in the Ranji Trophy by destroying Meghalaya's batting order in the domestic tournament's last round. In this pivotal match, which will be essential in determining Mumbai's prospects of making it to the quarterfinals, Shardul took a hat-trick, leaving Meghalaya reeling at 2 for 6. Shardul Thakur bowled 11 overs, three of which were maidens, and concluded with statistics of 4 for 43. After Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to field, the all-rounder from Mumbai claimed his hat-trick as early as the third over of the match.
By dismissing Nishanta Chakraborty for 0 in his opening over, Shardul set off the Meghalayan collapse. Sylvester D'Souza took two wickets, and Mohit Avasthi took three. With a wicket, spinner Shams Mulani also contributed. In Mumbai's loss against Jammu and Kashmir last week, Shardul was the lone fighter. Shardul hit a century in the second innings against J & K after star players like Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal failed. Shardul had also smashed a fifty in the first innings.