KL Rahul's Struggles Continue as Australia Exposes Vulnerable Middle Order

KL Rahul's batting woes have once again come back to haunt him in the ongoing Adelaide Test against Australia, with the right-hander's propensity for throwing away assured starts continuing to affect his Test average.

Rahul, who has a reputation for scoring heavily against Australian bowlers on away tours, was dismissed for 37 runs, highlighting his inability to convert promising starts into substantial scores. His Test average of 34.26 bears testimony to his struggles, built from a total of 54 matches, where he has amassed 3,084 runs, including 8 centuries and 16 half-centuries. Despite his impressive numbers, Rahul has frequently fallen short of his potential, with a high dot ball percentage of 74.2, which suggests that he often struggles to find momentum in the middle overs.

Rahul's opener record in particular has raised concerns, with him having fallen below 40 runs on 55 occasions in 46 Tests, and more often, he has accumulated under 20 runs. This inability to build on his starts has created a tactical puzzle for Rahul and his team, with the batsman often finding himself in a patch where his average hampers his ability to score big runs. With his inability to dominate bowlers and rotate the strike effectively, the likes of Australia's Cummins and Hazlewood continue to out fox him, reducing India's prospects of making a strong comeback.

As the Indian cricket team looks to revive their spirits in the ongoing Tests against Australia, there are inevitable calls for Rahul to engage in a deep analysis of his batting strategy to address this pressing concern, with his low conversion rate threatening to give India a moral blow in this critically challenging tour.