KL Rahul can't be dropped anymore and other things learned from India's win over England in first T20

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  • KL Rahul's incredible form keeps getting better and better.

    India started their tour of England in devastating fashion with a thumping eight-wicket win over the hosts in the first T20 at Manchester on Tuesday.

    After starting brightly with the bat, Eoin Morgan’s men were caught in a web of spin before being restricted to 159-8 in their 20 overs. In reply, India were simply too good with KL Rahul’s unbeaten ton ensuring a comfortable victory for the visitors.

    Here, we look at the three things learned from India’s big win at Old Trafford.

    CAN’T DROP KL RAHUL

    The transformation in Rahul’s batting in the past few months has been nothing short of brilliant. The right-hander was on fire in IPL 2018 where he scored 659 runs at an average of nearly 55 and a strike-rate of over 158.

    That form saw him recalled into India’s limited-overs setup but Rahul had to wait his turn after not being picked in the playing XI for the first T20 against Ireland. He was brought in for the second T20 and has not looked back since with splendid knocks of 70 and 101 not out.

    His T20I average is now a staggering 55.91 after 17 matches and in this form, Rahul has to be permanent name in the teamsheet for India’s T20 and ODI clashes. Everything about his batting screams confidence at the moment and India would do well to cash in on his purple patch.

    KL Rahul needs to be a permanent fixture in India's setup.

    KL Rahul needs to be a permanent fixture in India’s setup.

    INDIA ARE NO AUSTRALIA

    Former England skipper Nasser Hussain was chastening in his criticism of the hosts after their loss on Tuesday. Lambasting Morgan’s men for their sorry display, the 50-year-old said that England’s true test will be how they fare against the Indians rather than a ‘second string’ Australia side.

    The Englishman might well be right with the current Indian side looking like the biggest challengers for the hosts when they stage the World Cup at home next year.

    With an impressive batting line-up, bolstered by the in-form Rahul, and their array of wrist-spinners Virat Kohli‘s men will be a tough nut to crack for England despite their 6-0 dismantling of the Aussies across limited-overs formats the last month.

    Whoever wins the battle should be seen as the early favourites for the World Cup next year.

    Morgan and his men have their task cut out against India.

    Morgan and his men have their task cut out against India.

    WRIST-SPIN IS INDIA’S TRUMP CARD

    Before the start of the series, much of the talk centered around how England’s batsmen will have to tackle India’s wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

    On Tuesday, they handled Chahal fairly comfortably but were completely undone by Kuldeep’s devastating spell of 5-24. The youngster, playing against England for the first time, became the first left-arm wrist-spinner to claim five wickets in the T20I format. England batsmen had no idea how to handle his variations, especially the wrong one.

    His five scalps – Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root – are as big they come in international cricket. His dismissals of Bairstow and Root in particular were outstanding with both failing to pick Kuldeep’s googly.

    With his performance on Tuesday, the challenge has been thrown to England’s batsmen. How they handle of the wrist-spinners will be the defining battle of both the T20 and ODI series. Round one has gone to Kuldeep and Co but can England hit back? We will find out soon enough.

    England had no clue against Kuldeep.

    England looked clueless against Kuldeep.

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