KL Rahul on Saturday (September 28) produced a batting masterclass to help Karnataka register an emphatic 60-run victory over Kerala in the fourth round of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019 in the Elite Group A at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Rahul, who was struggling for form lately, looked in terrific touch from the outset as he added 84 runs for the third wicket with skipper Manish Pandey to bail the team out of trouble after Sandeep Warrier reduced them to 30-2.
Afterwards, Rahul shared a 98-run partnership with Shreyas Gopal (31) to put Karnataka in a strong position. In the process, he also completed his sixth List A century. KM Asif dismissed him in the 43rd over but not before Rahul scored 131 off 122 deliveries, including 10 fours and 4 sixes.
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It was certainly an important knock for Rahul, who recently lost his place in the India Test side and has been left out of the playing XI in the shorter formats lately.
"[This knock was] not as free-flowing as I wanted it to be, but it gives you more satisfaction as a player because you know it was not an easy wicket," the stylish right-hander said after the match. "You had to work hard. In the first game I felt that I could have carried on longer and delayed that risky shot.
"Today, I tried to stay more disciplined with my shot-making. That’s what I am looking to get out of these 8-10 games, make sure that I am disciplined with my shot selection and get some time in the middle and enjoy my batting.
"I want to challenge myself in difficult conditions, work a little bit on my technique, see where I'm faltering, which I already know. So to come back here and work on it, to get quality opposition and to get runs against them feels very very good. I just want to make it a habit to keep scoring runs."
Thanks to Rahul’s sparkling ton, Karnataka managed to post a highly competitive total of 294 on the board. Later, Karnataka’s bowlers came to the fore and bundled out the opposition for 234 in 46.4 overs with Ronit More (3/42) being the stand-out performer.
Sharing his feelings after donning the Karnataka jersey once again, Rahul said: "It's lovely. I love coming back to play with the same set of boys I have grown up playing with. There are a few youngsters who have improved their cricket, and it’s just so good to see. They are keen to learn. They ask, 'How is international cricket different from playing first-class cricket, what are the changes you have to do, what’s the pressure like at the higher level?’ It's great to come and share these things."
In fact, Rahul pointed out that the pitches in domestic cricket are more challenging.
"The wickets are a lot better at the higher level. Here, it's a bit more challenging,” he said. “If we get to bat first, then the first 10-15 overs are a bit of a challenge. It's like playing the first session in a red-ball game. That's a good challenge for me because I need to work on my game. Jharkhand had bowlers who were bowling at 140 clicks. Even today, the three Kerala fast bowlers all bowled 140 plus. It's a different challenge from international cricket but I don't think it's just a cakewalk to come and get runs here. You still have to work hard."
(Inputs from Sportstar)
