World Cup 2023: Here's how Rahul had to rush in to bat; watch KL-Kohli chat

In a chat after the record 139-run stand against Australia during ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Kohli and Rahul talked in length about how they steered India's sinking ship with Test-match-style batting

India were in the midst of a horrific batting collapse during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opener. But two experienced batters - Virat Kohli and KL Rahul- came together with a record 139-run stand to take India out of miseries. Kohli has been India's chase master for a long time now, but Rahul, an opening batter for the majority of his cricketing career, had to rush in to bat after keeping for a full 50 Overs in Chennai's hot and humid afternoon. 

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In a video posted by BCCI, Kohli and Rahul revealed what were their mindset and how they took the challenge by the scruf of the neck. 

 

"It really helped both of us play in a more conventional way. Those tough situations obviously helped us to eradicate the errors and keep rotating the strike as well," Kohli told Rahul in a BCCI video.

 

"The highlight of our partnership was, obviously because of the low total, how content we were to knock the ball around. (We were) not necessarily looking at the number of balls we played or the number of runs we got."

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"Just fighting through the physical challenges of what we had experienced in the (Sunday) afternoon, coming into the evening, then the pressure obviously makes you feel even more tense, and you start getting more fatigued than you are."

"The team obviously feels great after a win like that. Hopefully, we can build on this and go a long way in this tournament."

Meanwhile, Rahul admitted that he was taken aback by the quick fall of wickets, as it barely allowed him to settle down in the pavilion after India began its chase.

"I never expected it. You do lose a couple of quick wickets when the bowler is doing something, but not like that. It takes four-five overs; doesn't happen in 1.5 overs."

"I had a shower and just came out and sat, and then Ishan (Kishan) got out. I had to rush back in, get taped and wear my pads before Rohit (Sharma) got out."

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"I thought I would get at least two overs; Shreyas (Iyer) will bat a little bit. But he got out, I don't even know when, as I was busy padding up, and then, I rushed out."

When Kohli asked about Rahul's game plan at that moment of the tie, he clarified that he took a page out of his stint in Test cricket in a similar scenario.

"My game plan was to play the first ten overs like I play Test cricket. I do open the batting (in Tests), and we have played in situations where the ball does a bit."

"I just told myself that I will probably be a little bit conservative, just try to kill the momentum that Australia had. They were on a high."

"You (Kohli) were content with knocking it around, but you always kept showing that intent. If they pitch it up or get off the radar, you will punish them. I think they could sense that as well, and we got a couple of boundaries that way."