Watch- Scott Boland horrifies Australia with KL Rahul's wicket on a No-Ball
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Australia fast bowler Scott Boland almost made a perfect comeback to Test cricket when he picked up the wicket of KL Rahul off his first ball of the Adelaide Test. Boland bowled a brilliant delivery outside off stump that climbed up awkwardly from a good length spot.
Rahul tried to defend the ball from his crease but was surprised by the bounce and eventually nicked it to the wicketkeeper Alex Carey. The umpire didn't take long to raise the finger as the Australian players let out an appeal.
KL Rahul had even started to walk off the field before the on-field umpire signalled it a no-ball after consulting with the third umpire Richard Kettleborough. Scott Boland had bowled a magnificent ball first up but was found well over the line.
Watch- Mitchell Starc takes revenge from Yashasvi Jaiswal with 1st ball wicket in Adelaide
Watch- Scott Boland grabs KL Rahul’s wicket off his first ball; gets a no-ball call from 3rd Umpire
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) December 6, 2024
Scott Boland came into the Playing XI replacing Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out of the Adelaide Test due to an injury. Hazlewood was Australia's best bowler in Perth but was ruled out of the match due to a side strain.
Boland is making a Test comeback after the 2023 Ashes Test in Headingley. He also played in the two-day warm-up match between India and Prime Minister's XI played in Canberra.
Scott Boland has an excellent Test record in which he has picked up 35 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 20.34 so far. However, the presence of some of the best Australian bowlers in the team makes it difficult for the 35-year-old to make it into the Playing XI.
KL Rahul's impressive performance in Perth
Meanwhile, it would have been a huge wicket if KL Rahul had been dismissed. Rahul was one of the best batters in Perth as he was impressive in both the innings of the match.
He scored a hard-fought 26 in the first innings when the ball was seaming and assisting the fast bowlers. Rahul followed it up with an excellent 77 off 176 balls. He batted patiently and looked assured at the crease with his solid defence.
KL Rahul stitched an excellent opening partnership of 201 runs for the opening wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal to lay the foundation of a strong score by India.
His excellence at the top meant Rohit Sharma didn't find a place at the top order and had to settle for a middle order spot for this match. Rohit himself admitted that Rahul deserves a spot at the opening spot after his brilliance in Perth.
India make three changes
Earlier in the day, India won the toss and elected to bat first. While Australia made just one change in their playing XI bringing in Scott Boland for Josh Hazlewood, India made three changes.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ravichandran Ashwin came into the Playing XI for India replacing Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, and Washington Sundar.
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India National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team IND vs AUS India vs Australia AUS vs IND Australia vs India Border-Gavaskar Trophy ICC World Test Championship India tour of Australia Scott Boland KL Rahul