Tightening up his defence and giving bowlers respect in the first 30 overs of an innings has been the mantra to KL Rahul’s success during the ongoing series against Australia in which his other India teammates have struggled.
Rahul has by far looked the most assured Indian batter on the tour and it was on display once again on Tuesday when he produced a gritty 84 off 139 balls in challenging conditions, contributing immensely to the visitors’ 252 for nine on day four of the third Test in Brisbane.
After India managed to avoid follow-on in the rain-hit game, Rahul turned up for the media interaction and was expectedly asked about his style of play compared to the struggling Indian lot.
“See, I’m quite certain that everybody has their own set plans… You also need to have a bit of luck as a top-order batter. Just a little bit that goes your way.
“If you can get through those first 10-15 overs and get a bit of confidence then you start feeling good and you start enjoying playing with the Kookaburra ball with the pace and bounce here in Australia,” said Rahul who has reaped the benefits of playing close to his body.
Rahul has been a picture of patience and perseverance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy while the other Indian batters have been found wanting against the new ball.
What has made Rahul’s success more remarkable is that he was not the first-choice opener before the start of the series. He did well in the first Test and then skipper Rohit Sharma decided to drop himself down the order.
The classy right-hander said it is all about sticking to the basics in overseas conditions and that includes giving due respect to the bowlers when the ball is hard and new.
“It’s just about getting through those first 20-30 balls for everybody and everyone’s trying their best to do that and it’s a long series. So we played three games five innings now, so I’m sure everyone will go back and come up with their own plans the next time we bat.
“The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is to tighten up your defence, try and respect that the first 30 overs is the bowler’s time and give them their time, leave balls, try and play as tight as possible and then really try to cash in once the ball gets older. So that’s my plan, and that’s pretty simple, and I’m sure that’s the plan for everybody.”
Besides not playing away from his body, Rahul has also made a conscious effort to leave balls while the other batters have been guilty of playing deliveries on the off-stump channel with hard hands.
“Yeah, very important. I mean, not just for me, for any openers on both sides,” said Rahul when asked about the importance of leaving balls.
“We’ve seen even in Adelaide when in the night when McSweeney and Labuschagne played really well in those 10-15 overs they just kept leaving balls of a good length…
“… That’s a good thing about playing here in Australia, if you get used to the pace and bounce, you can trust the bounce and you can leave balls on bounce and that’s something that they showed us in the last game.”
When on tours, Rahul reckons one has to earn the right to score runs.
“When you travel overseas and when you’re playing quality fast bowlers, you have to respect the first 20-30 overs. You have to respect if the ball’s moving, you have to give it to the fast bowlers and just soak in that pressure and wait for your time to score runs.
“You have to earn the right to score runs in overseas conditions. And that’s something that we’ve spoken about a lot and we’ll try and do it again,” said Rahul, adding that he had a hard time picking the pink ball in the previous game.
Has his plans changed from venue to venue?
“I mean not so far at least because I feel like Perth and Brisbane were quite similar in terms of how much pace and bounce the wickets had.
“So I’ve had a pretty simple plan for these two grounds. But now, once I’ve come here again, gone back to basics and try and play close to the body, leave balls, the basics, I can’t make up anything new and tell you,” said the opener.
An unbeaten 39-run stand between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep for the 10th wicket helped India avoid follow-on. With more rain around, the game is heading for a draw despite Australia’s dominance in the weather-hit Test.
Rahul enjoyed the shots played by Akash Deep and Bumrah.
“Yes, very good to see when the lower order chips in and scores runs. That’s something that we discuss a lot in our meetings and the bowlers work really hard on their batting as well.
“Knowing that there’s a bit of rain around and so much of the game has been lost to rain. We need to find a way to stay in the game and I think Akash and Bumrah did that at the end,” said Rahul, who was preparing himself to bat again when India were reduced to 213 for nine.
“It was a great contest at the end, the last half an hour they batted, not just the runs that they got, just the heart that they showed to keep away the bouncers, there’s a lot of pace and bounce in the wicket.
“To get behind the ball, defend really well, leave the ball, hit some nice shots, it’s really good,” added Rahul.
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