KL Rahul has jokingly said that expected Shreyas Iyer to bat for “at least two overs” against Australia because that would have given him some time in the dressing room to get ready.
Shreyas Iyer came in at number 4 at 1.3 overs after the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. However, Iyer could manage to survive against Josh Hazlewood for only two balls, and on the third ball he faced from Hazlewood, Iyer chipped a catch straight to David Warner at cover.
India’s score read 2/3 at the end of 2 overs, and KL Rahul had to walk in to bat at number 5 in just the third over of India’s chase. KL Rahul had done his wicket-keeping duties for 50 overs in the Chennai heat and humidity and then had to hastily be ready to come out to bat in just the third over of India’s innings.
Speaking in a video for the BCCI, Rahul said: “I never expected it. You do lose a couple of wickets when the ball is doing something. But not like that. It still takes four or five overs, not 1.5 or two overs. I just came and sat when I came out of the shower. When Ishan got out, I rushed to get taped and started wearing my pads. Then Rohit got out, Shreyas too. With Shreyas, I thought he would bat at least two overs. But he was out on the first or second ball.”
It was nice to start the WC with a win: KL Rahul
Rahul and Virat Kohli then batted as if they were in a Test match, he said. Both first saw off the new ball from Hazlewood, Starc, and then Cummins, and then attacked leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
The pair added 165 runs, which were enough to ensure India were within touching distance of their 200-run target when Kohli got out. KL Rahul then freed his arms and finished on 97*.
Speaking about his partnership with Kohli, Rahul said: “The only chat after 50-70 runs of the partnership was, let us conserve our energy, let us not run the twos. Once we hit it in the gaps, our instincts took over and we started running. It was nice to start the WC with a win.”
