India opener KL Rahul has attributed his success in the ongoing Test series against Australia to tighter defence and the strategy of giving respect to bowlers in the first 30 overs of an innings.
While most of his teammates have struggled to adapt to the conditions Down Under, Rahul has looked assured in all the games so far. While the right-hander made 26 and 77 in India’s Perth Test win, he returned with scores of 37 and 7 across the two innings of pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval
Rahul displayed his brilliance in the ongoing Gabba Test as well, producing a gritty 84 off 139 balls during India’s first innings. He ended up being the top scorer as the visitors reached 252/9 at stumps on Day 4.
After India managed to avoid follow-on in the rain-marred game, Rahul turned up a press conference and was expectedly asked about his style of play compared to the struggling Indian lot.
"See I'm quite certain that everybody has their own set plans... You also need to have a bit of luck as a top-order batter.
"Just a little bit that goes your way if you can get through those first 10-15 overs and get a bit of confidence then you start feeling good and you start enjoying playing with the Kookaburra ball with the pace and bounce here in Australia," Rahul told reporters.
KL Rahul was not India’s first-choice opener before the start of the series. However, his game against the new ball at Perth impressed the team management so much that skipper Rohit Sharma decided to drop himself down the order.
For Rahul, it is all about sticking to the basics in overseas conditions and that includes giving respect to the bowlers when the ball is hard and new.
"It's just about getting through those first 20-30 balls for everybody and everyone's trying their best to do that and it's a long series. So we played three games five innings now, so I'm sure everyone will go back and come up with their own plans the next time we bat.
"The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is to tighten up your defence, try and respect that the first 30 overs is the bowler's time and give them their time, leave balls, try and play as tight as possible and then really try to cash in once the ball gets older. So that's my plan, and that's pretty simple, and I'm sure that's the plan for everybody."
Rahul has also made a conscious effort to leave balls while the other batters have been guilty of playing deliveries on the off-stump channel with hard hands.
"Yeah, very important. I mean, not just for me, for any openers on both sides," said Rahul. "We've seen even in Adelaide when in the night when McSweeney and Labuschagne played really well in those 10-15 overs they just kept leaving balls of a good length...
"... That's a good thing about playing here in Australia, if you get used to the pace and bounce, you can trust the bounce and you can leave balls on bounce and that's something that they showed us in the last game."
When on tours, Rahul reckons one has to earn the right to score runs. "When you travel overseas and when you're playing quality fast bowlers, you have to respect the first 20-30 overs. You have to respect if the ball's moving, you have to give it to the fast bowlers and just soak in that pressure and wait for your time to score runs.
"You have to earn the right to score runs in overseas conditions. And that's something that we've spoken about a lot and we'll try and do it again," said Rahul.
(With PTI Inputs)
