KL Rahul Success Mantra: The mantra of Indian opener Lokesh Rahul’s success in the ongoing series against Australia is to keep the defense strong in the first 30 overs and give respect to the bowlers.
Rahul has been the most reliable Indian batsman so far on the current tour of Australia and even on Tuesday, in challenging conditions, he played an excellent inning of 84 runs in 139 balls, which helped the Indian team follow up by scoring 252 runs for nine wickets in the first innings on the fourth day of the third Test here. Was successful in averting the danger.
When Rahul spoke to the media after India postponed the follow-on on a rain-interrupted day, as expected he was asked the secret of his success while other Indian batsmen are struggling to score runs. “Look, I am sure everyone has their own plans… you also need a bit of luck as a top-order batsman,” Rahul told reporters.
He said, “If you can play well in the first 10-15 overs and get a bit of confidence then things become a bit easier for you, then you start feeling good and you get the pace with the Kookaburra ball in Australia.” And it becomes fun to play with the bounce.
Rahul has been an example of patience and perseverance so far in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy while other Indian batsmen have looked weak against the new ball. Rahul’s success is notable because he was not the first-choice opening batsman before the start of the series. He performed well in the first Test and then captain Rohit Sharma himself decided to field him lower down the order.
The right-handed batsman said it is all about sticking to the basics in overseas conditions and that also includes giving due respect to the bowlers, especially when the ball is hard and new. “It’s all about getting through those first 20-30 balls and everyone is trying their best to do that and it’s a long series,” Rahul said. We have played five innings in three matches so far so I am sure everyone will make their own plan the next time we bat.
“The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is tighten up your defence, try and respect that the first 30 overs are the bowlers’ time and give them their time, leave the balls as much as possible,” he said. Try to play as solid as possible and then try to take advantage of it as the ball gets older. So that’s my plan and it’s very simple and I’m sure it’s the plan for everyone.”
Apart from not attempting to play shots away from his body, Rahul has also attempted to leave the balls while other batsmen have been guilty of playing balls close to the off stump. Rahul said that batsmen have to work hard to score runs on foreign tours. He said, “When you tour abroad and when you are facing the best fast bowlers, you have to respect the first 20-30 overs. If the ball is spinning then you have to respect it, you have to give that time to the fast bowlers and withstand that pressure and wait for your time to score runs.
Rahul said that in the last match he had difficulty in understanding the pink ball. India managed to avoid follow-on thanks to an unbroken 39-run 10th-wicket partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Akashdeep and with the possibility of rain, this Test looks headed for a draw while Australia has dominated the match so far. Rahul enjoyed the batting of Akash Deep and Bumrah. He said, “Yes, it feels good when the lower order scores runs.” We talk about this a lot in our meetings and the bowlers have also worked hard on their batting.
Rahul said, “Knowing that it is raining a little and a large part of the game has been lost to rain. We had to find a way to stay in the match and I think Akash and Bumrah did that in the end.” India had lost their ninth wicket at 219 runs and the visiting team was almost certain to follow on but Bumrah And Akash Deep averted this danger.
