Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul have put India in a commanding position with their disciplined batting display in the ongoing first Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium, Perth.
After securing a handy first-innings lead of 46 runs, India needed their batters to dig in during the second essay and the opening pair of Jaiswal and Rahul did exactly that. They batted cautiously against the new ball and punished the opposition bowlers after getting set. This approach didn’t only put India in the driver’s seat but also tired out the Australian attack.
Jaiswal and Rahul added 201 runs for the opening wicket, with the former slamming 161 off 297 balls and latter scoring 77 off 176 deliveries.
Later on, Virat Kohli produced an unbeaten century (100) as the visitors declared their second innings at 487/6, setting a daunting target of 534 for the home side.
After the third day’s play in Perth, KL Rahul revealed how he took inspiration from his former opening partner Murali Vijay to play the senior role and help Yashasvi Jaiswal to have his moment during the record-breaking stand.
“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 said in a video uploaded by the BCCI on Instagram.
The 32-year-old has seen himself being pushed up and down in the batting order as per the team’s requirements. However, it is something that doesn’t bother him as long as he features in the playing XI.
“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," he remarked.
Coming to the match, India are on the verge of completing a historic Test win in Perth. At the time of writing this article, they had reduced the Aussies to 227/8 in the final innings, needing two more wickets to seal the deal.
