India vs Windies | Virat Kohli and Anjikya Rahane ensured the scoreboard looked good, believes KL Rahul
After India ended Day 3 at a score of 185/3, KL Rahul has said that the unbeaten 104-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane has given India the upper hand. Rahul also voiced his disappointment of not being able to convert his starts into big innings after being dismissed for 38.
Much like the first innings, India found themselves in a sticky situation with the top three back in the pavilion for just 81 runs as West Indies tried to claw their way back into the game. However, Kohli and Rahane came to India’s rescue as the duo put up an unbeaten 104-run stand to guide India to 185/3 and increased the lead to 260 at the end of Day 3. Rahul said that the partnership between the duo can help set up a winning score for the visitors.
"Two quick wickets fell down, Mayank got out early. 60 for 3 doesn't look that good on the scoreboard. So it was important that Ajinkya and Virat stitched together a partnership. That spell from Roach was really good and they put some pressure on us. They stayed patient and played that little spell out and then later the runs came on. We know that they're really good batsmen, very skilled, so once they are set they will get a lot of runs and that's what they did. Now at the end of the day, the scoreboard looks very good, hopefully, we can come out tomorrow and they can continue for a longer time," Rahul said in the press conference, reported Cricbuzz.
In the first innings, with Kohli, Agarwal, and Pujara back in the hut for a combined score of just 16 runs, Rahul built a 68-run partnership with Rahane to guide India out of troubled waters. However, despite looking comfortable at the crease Rahul was dismissed for 40 - failing to convert yet another start into a half-century.Â
"(I'm) very disappointed. But there are a lot of things I'm doing right, a lot of positives too. I just have to keep my head down and show some more patience. I just have to prolong the good things I'm doing till I get to 35 or 45. I've been batting well, I've looked comfortable in both the innings, my head space and everything is very good. I'm happy about a lot of things, just if I can keep my patience and keep batting the way I do in the first 60-80 balls, if I continue to do that for 200-250 balls then it'll obviously benefit me and the team. That's what I'll look to do next match,” Rahul said.
"Technique and everything is over-rated - when you get runs everything looks good. So it was important for me to spend time in the middle, I never felt that there was anything drastically wrong with my technique in Australia. It was just one of those phases that every batsman goes through. When you are in that phase it's challenging to get out but a great player will find his way out. That's why going out and playing some practice games, India A games and getting some runs under my belt did well for my confidence and I could go back and focus on getting runs more than why I was getting out and trying to dissect my technique or batting."
It was pretty much the same case again in the second innings as after getting to 38 and looking extremely comfortable at the crease, the Indian opener “threw away” his wicket. During the post-match press conference, Rahul was questioned on his shot selection, a paddle sweep, which led to his wicket and the Karnataka batsman offered an insight into his thought process stating that his plan had been to unsettle Chase.
"Sometimes when you play a sweep or a paddle sweep there is a certain percentage of premeditation in it. You have played the offspinner for a bit, 5-6 overs, and I knew the lines that he was bowling, he was outside off. I was thinking boundary and not thinking about getting lbw or anything. I was thinking about runs. Since I had hit him for a boundary before that ball I knew he would try to bowl a better length which is easier for me to paddle. But unfortunately I didn't execute the shot really well.
"If I had put bat on the ball it would have probably gone for a four and then that would have put a lot more pressure on the bowler. Two boundaries in two balls, he would have probably pulled back his length and that could have got some more boundaries. But unfortunately that's a battle that he won. Probably won't happen again or probably will happen again. That's how batting is - you try to minimise your mistakes," he added.
Cricket FootBall Kabaddi
Basketball Hockey
SportsCafe
Cricket FootBall Kabaddi
Basketball Hockey
SportsCafe