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Rahul reflected on his emotions from his century in Sydney, in 2015 and shared some of the advice with Jaiswal during their 200-run stand.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (L) is hugged by teammate KL Rahul (R) after completing his century on Day 3 of the 1st Test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia. (AP Photo)
After the record-breaking 200-run partnership to help India set the tone, KL Rahul revealed how he took inspiration from his former opening batter to play the senior role and help Yashasvi Jaiswal to have his moment in the second innings against Australia in Perth at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series-opener.
In 2015, a young Rahul burst onto the scene by showcasing his mettle at the top of the order when he scored 110 against Australia in Sydney. In a video uploaded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their official Instagram handle, Rahul explained how he saw shades of his younger self in Jaiswal and how his opening partner at the time, Murali Vijay helped him at the time.
“In some strange way, I felt I could see myself in Yashasvi. 10 years ago when I asked to open the batting, I knew exactly what he was feeling when I looked at him and my heart was racing. And there are so many thoughts in your head and so many doubts, so many things. I sensed that and Murali Vijay did this for me when I was playing my second game and this was yesterday, my second knock here in Australia. So it’s just something that you do as an opening partner and you owe it to your fellow teammate,” Rahul explained.
The Karnataka-based batter has been in the Indian team across all formats and has seen himself being pushed up and down the batting order, as per the team’s requirements, a responsibility he did not shy away from, as long as he got to play.
“The best place for me to play is in the 11. I hate sitting outside and missing games of cricket. I had a bit of time, I work, worked hard on my batting, and I worked for hours together with Abhishek Nair through those 2 games against New Zealand that I didn’t play. When you’re not playing, it’s hard to keep yourself motivated. But I think a lot of credit to Abhishek as well. He encouraged me,” Rahul commented.
The work put in behind the scenes has clearly paid dividends as the two went on to stitch a 200-run partnership with Jaiswal scoring 161 while Rahul scored a gritty 77 to lay down the foundation for a mammoth target.
India’s bowling attack has also stepped up their game and has taken five wickets so far and look like favourites to take the win and the series lead in the five-match series.
- Location :
Perth, Australia
