From despair in the third Test to delight here, it has been a remarkable last few days for K.L. Rahul.
The 22-year-old batsman was all composure as he spoke after the day’s play. Rahul said: “I feel more relieved than proud of myself. It was a nightmare debut and it didn’t make life any easier, coming to the second Test, that I dropped a sitter here.
“I kept telling myself the only way from here is up. I had to calm myself down, and definitely batting up the order gave me a little more time to myself. And after I batted last night, I felt the game is just about a bat and ball, and got rid of any nerves. And, I am pleased with the way I batted today.”
On Rahul Dravid’s influence, he said: “As a kid in Bangalore, Dravid used to come and train with us whenever he was not playing international cricket, and that gave us youngsters an opportunity to talk to him. He has always been kind enough to share his experience. He has always been a good role model to look up to.”
He thanked his teammates in the Indian team for their support. “It has been challenging. Definitely, there’s a lot of learning when you come into the senior team. I have learnt a lot from my teammates and they have helped me through. They showed a lot of faith in me by giving me this opportunity.”
Conscious effort
On the woeful shots that led to his dismissals at the MCG, Rahul said: “Quite honestly, I don’t know what was going on in my mind. It was all going too fast. One of the key things that other players told me was to give myself time between balls and not to forget to breathe.
“When you go out there you don’t think of all those things, but it does make a lot of sense; that’s what they told me and it was a very conscious effort to give myself more time between balls. I am happy it worked out.”
He admitted that he had to work on the pull shot against the quicker bowlers on pitches with more bounce than in India.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann revealed that Chris Rogers did not field on Thursday because of a back spasm.
