Shardul Thakur, who hit a hundred for Mumbai earlier in January, took a hat-trick against Meghalaya in the final round of Ranji Trophy group stages. KL Rahul, meanwhile, was dismissed for 26 on his return to the tournament after 5 years.

KL Rahul was dismissed for 26 off 37 balls during Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Haryana at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

While Rahul is set to bat at No. 3 for Karnataka in his first competitive outing after the tour to Australia, the right-hander might occupy the No. 5 slot for India in the one-dayers

KL Rahul will return to play Ranji Trophy after a gap of five years when Karnataka take on Haryana in Bengaluru in an Elite Group C contest, starting Thursday.

Rahul batted in the KSCA ‘B’ ground, before moving to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium main ground for a catching session while Kaverappa bowled at full tilt and had a hit in the nets.

While Virat Kohli's return to the Ranji Trophy after over 12 years has garnered all the attention, KL Rahul conducted his business as usual in a low-key manner.