IND vs AUS: Lower order chipping in with runs always feel great, says Rahul

KL Rahul, playing as an opener, scored a crucial 84-run knock before the tail-enders took India past the follow-on mark in Brisbane

The India cricket team, after struggling for the most part of the third Test in Brisbane, finally found a way back into the game as they pushed the match to an even finish with the help of crucial contributions from KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep, and Jasprit Bumrah. India, who started the day needing 195 more runs to avoid the follow-on, went close to the mark with the help of half-centuries from KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja before India’s number 10 and 11, i.e., Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep, poured their hearts out to take India’s total to 252-9, which is six more than they needed to avoid the follow-on by Australia. They still trail by 193 runs, but with just one more day left in the Test and dark clouds of rain still looming over the Gabba, they can secure an easy draw to keep the series tied at 1-1.

 

KL Rahul, who played a major role in India’s fightback at Brisbane, attended the post-day press conference and shed some light on how important the runs from the lower order were for the team. He also reflected on his own performance by acknowledging that he struggled with picking the pink ball in Adelaide, but since Perth and Brisbane feature similar types of wickets, it was easy for him to play his natural cricket.

 

Pink ball comes much quicker at you than the red ball 

KL Rahul, after being asked about how he would evaluate his performance from Perth to Adelaide to Brisbane, said that he had a good outing with the bat in Perth with the red ball, but when he reached Adelaide, he found it tough to pick the pink ball as it came much quicker than the red ball. But, since the wickets in Perth and Brisbane are quite similar, he found it easy to bat on as predicting the bounce and movement was much easier.

 

He also mentioned that in Australia, once you spend 10 to 15 overs at the crease, you can trust the bounce and stick to the basics to get optimal results, which was exactly what he did. 

 

Jadeja has always been a match-winner 

Talking about Ravindra Jadeja’s gritty 77-run knock, Rahul said that people often talk about his bowling, but he is as big of a match-winner with the bat as he is with the ball. He said his plan with Jadeja was to keep things simple and try to stitch big partnerships, and he was pleased to see the way the southpaw batted with the lower order to take India close to the 246-run mark.

 

The message was to take the singles

 

Rahul praised Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah’s gallant effort with the bat on day four, saying it always feels great to have your lower order contribute with the bat. It fills the team with confidence that all is not lost once the top order is gone. He said that Rohit sent the message to the two tail-enders to complete the runs with singles as Australia had the field spread, instead of playing any rash shots and losing the wicket.

 

Rahul also said that he was ready to pad up to bat in the second innings, despite being unsure of whether Australia would enforce the follow-on or not, but he was happy that Akash Deep and Bumrah ensured that he didn’t have to.