With injured Vijay Shankar sitting out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up game against New Zealand, it was a golden opportunity for KL Rahul to score some points in the fight for India's number four spot. But the Karnataka batsman could manage only six runs from 10 runs and as expected, his disappointment was written large.
Opting to bat first, India got off to a disastrous start losing both the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan inside the fourth over with Trent Boult claiming both the wickets. Then came Rahul, and he hit the first ball of the sixth over for a sublime four through square. Then, he dragged the ball onto his stumps and the ball ballooned. Frustrated, Rahul kicked the ball.
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India, ranked second in the world, are one of the hot favourites to win the World Cup. But the nagging number four problem continues to trouble the two-time champions. Rahul is one of the many contenders for the spot. But he seemed to have squandered one chance to seal it.
Thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's 50-ball 54, India managed 179 runs in the match.
India will play Bangladesh on Tuesday in their second and last warm-up match before taking on South Africa in their World Cup opener on June 5.
