T20 World Cup: Rahul notches up a 27-ball fifty while Rohit bats on 1 at other end; Watch

Team India vice-captain KL Rahul registered a stunning half-century in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 warm-up match against Australia on Monday. Opening the bat alongside captain Rohit Sharma, Rahul took just 27 balls to complete his half-century with the help of six fours and three sixes. Interestingly, India skipper Rohit had just scored one run by the time Rahul had reached his fifty. 

The duo of KL and Rohit added 78 runs off 7.2 overs for the first wicket stand against Australia. While Rahul contributed 57 runs off 33 balls in the partnership, Rohit added only 15 runs. Following Rahul’s dismissal in the 8th over, India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma in the next over. This was a second-straight half-century for KL as he earlier hit 74 runs off 55 balls in the practice match against Western Australia. 

Watch: KL Rahul completes 27-ball fifty against Australia in T20 World Cup warm-up match

Fans had interesting reactions to KL Rahul's carnage while Rohit was yet to open his innings. Here are a few of them:

KL Rahul’s form ahead of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022

KL Rahul heads into the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia on the back of two half-centuries against South Africa in the team’s last T20I series. He has scored 306 runs for India in 10 T20I innings in 2022. While his form was a concern for India ahead of the Asia Cup 2022, his knock of 62 runs in 41 balls against Afghanistan was the first half-century he hit this year.

What else happened in the first innings of India vs Australia, T20 WC warm-up match?

Coming back to the India vs Australia, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 warm-up match, India amassed 186 runs in the first innings. After Rohit’s dismissal, Virat Kohli returned to the pavilion on 19 runs, while Suryakumar Yadav played a quickfire knock of 50 runs in 22 balls. Yadav hit six fours and one six for India, before his dismissal in the final over. 

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik also contributed with 20 runs to India’s total, while other batters failed to cross the 10-run mark. Kane Richardson emerged as the highest wicket-taker for Australia with four dismissals to his credit. Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar also registered one wicket each.