India had a terrible start to their first innings of the series opener against Australia in Perth. Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), Devdutt Padikkal (0) and Virat Kohli (5) were undone by Australian fast bowlers. KL Rahul was the only batter who looked at ease in the first session of the day. However, his innings of 26 runs ended when the third umpire overturned the on-field official’s not-out decision.

He didn’t have conclusive evidence of whether the batter had nicked the ball or the willow that touched the pad. He was not even provided sufficient angles by the local broadcaster, but he still gave the decision in Australia’s favor. Rahul was furious as he felt that his bat had touched the pad and not the ball. Former players Sanjay Manjrekar and Deep Dasgupta slammed the official and the broadcasting channel for their debatable call.

The right-handed batter hit glorious strokes, and he was certainly heading towards a big score before the TV umpire call ended his hopes. India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who is working as a commentator in the ongoing game, hailed the batter for showing calmness and intent to stay in the middle. He urged Virat, Yashasvi, and Devdutt to learn from their teammate.

“He was looking good in the middle and didn’t get bothered by the testing line and length of the Australian bowlers. It seems Rahul moved on from the past failures and wanted to make a statement in Perth.

“Despite missing a few deliveries, he didn’t lose his calmness and played the ball close to the body. I feel Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal should take a note how Rahul batted and learn from him. On a pitch like Perth, you need to spend time before playing shots,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on Star Sports.

India were bowled out for 150 runs, and Australia managed 67/7 at stumps on Day 1 of the Test.