BENGALURU: “Enjoying ”. KL Rahul kept using that word during postmatch press conference after India’s second ODI against Australia in Rajkot. He is in a phase in which things seem to be heading in the right direction. Challenges have been thrown at him. He’s been shunted around in the batting order. He’s been asked to keep wickets. The 27-year-old has accepted all these tests with open arms, and passed them with flying colours. In the first ODI, he walked in at No 3, scored 47, and also donned the keeping gloves after Rishabh Pant suffered a concussion. In the second, with Pant ruled out, Rahul was again behind the wickets.
Then he played at No 5, and notched up a crucial 52-ball 80 to help India level the series. The 27-year-old stated that watching the videos of AB de Villiers, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson helped him to change gears accordingly. “I have always opened the batting. That is the position I am most comfortable in. I know how to build my innings. When I bat at three, four or five, I get to learn so much about myself and the art of batting. I am enjoying it. I am finding new ways to counter bowlers, handle situations. I do not look at it as a pressure, but as an opportunity.”
The year has started on the right note for Rahul, who earlier had scores of 45 and 54 against Sri Lanka in the T20Is. In fact, he has starred in domestic cricket this season. That included 598 runs in Vijay Hazare Trophy, with impressive knocks at his home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Karnataka star will be keen to carry this form into the series-decider, at the same venue on Sunday. Rahul has set the bar higher and the management will be expecting him to deliver once again, considering that he knows the ground inside out.
Rahul is expected to don the gloves despite KS Bharat being called up as a cover for Pant. His batting position is also unclear. Regular openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan suffered injuries on Friday, and the think tank is expected to take a call on their inclusion before the game.
Rahul shouldn’t have problems in opening the inning once again, though he has adjusted his game to be effective in the middle order too. However, it remains to be seen if the management decides to strengthen the bowling department. With a venue that is batting friendly and has small boundaries, and with Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey not impressing in the last game, they might be tempted to an all-rounder in Shivam Dube or Kedar Jadhav.
Virat Kohli will be eager to have the best combination, or else it could be another ODI series loss to Australia at home. To be fair, the visitors, despite their bowlers having below- par outings in the second game, have looked like a solid unit. Their batting department has impressed in both matches. Big players like David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith have been among runs. Goes without saying that a close contest is on the cards.