KL Rahul finally revealed the chat he had with Virat Kohli and what the senior batsman told him when he joined him in the middle during India’s chase of 200 runs against Australia as the hosts kick-started their World Cup 2023 with a 6-wicket win.
KL Rahul spent the most amount of time on the field in the IND vs AUS match on Sunday in Chennai. After doing the wicket-keeping duties for 50 overs in the heat of Chennai, KL Rahul was back in the middle, arresting a collapse after India had lost their first three wickets in the first two overs. He batted till the end, and saw the off the chase with unbeaten 97 runs, finishing the game with a handsome six to Pat Cummins.
After India were reduced to 2/3, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer getting out for ducks, Kohli and Rahul formed a 165-run partnership which put India in a winning position. Kohli scored 85 runs while Rahul scored 97*.
Virat said to play proper shots like it’s Test cricket: KL Rahul
Rahul revealed that Kohli told him to bat like they do in a Test match as the pitch was helping the bowlers and there wasn’t any real pressure of the required run-rate. He reckoned they needed to play out the new ball first as the Aussie pacers were bowling well, and then remain way of Adam Zampa, who bowled disappointingly in Chennai.
“Quite honestly, not a lot of conversation. I was just trying to catch my breath as I just had a shower. I thought I would get a good half an hour – [or] an hour’s – break, put the feet up and just rest up. But I was out there in no time, so there was a bit of rush. I was just trying to get my breath back,” said KL Rahul, who was named the Player of the Match.
“Virat said there’s big help in the wicket, and [we] just have to play proper shots and play like it’s Test cricket for some time and see where it goes,” Rahul said. “That was mostly the plan, and happy that we could do the job for the team.”
Next, India face Afghanistan on Wednesday in Delhi.
