KL Rahul‘s success in the ongoing series against Australia stems from his defensive approach and respect for bowlers, especially during the initial 30 overs. His teammates have struggled, but Rahul has been the most dependable Indian batter.
Rahul’s assured batting was on display again on Tuesday. He scored a determined 84 off 139 balls in challenging conditions during the third Test’s fourth day. This contribution was crucial to India’s total of 252 for nine.
After India avoided the follow-on in the rain-affected game, Rahul discussed his playing style.
KL Rahul Press Conference
“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, who has benefited from playing close to his body, emphasised the importance of sticking to the basics in overseas conditions. This includes respecting the bowlers when the ball is new and hard.
“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.
Daniel Vettori Press Conference
“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.”
Rahul has consciously left balls, unlike other batters who have played deliveries on the off-stump channel with hard hands. He has focused on playing close to his body.
“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.”
Rahul believes that earning the right to score runs is essential when playing overseas.
“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,” Rahul said.
Rahul mentioned having difficulty picking the pink ball in the previous game.
Rahul discussed his plans for different venues.
“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.
“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 unbroken 39-run partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep for the tenth wicket helped India avert the follow-on. The rain-interrupted Test seems to be heading for a draw, despite Australia’s dominance.
Rahul appreciated the shots played by Akash Deep and Bumrah.
“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.”
Rahul was preparing to bat again when India were nine wickets down.
“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,” added Rahul.
