Having failed twice to carry on after a start in the first Test against West Indies in Antigua, Indian opener KL Rahul, who has long struggled at the top, said talks around dents in his technique are definitely "overrated" and he just needs to show more patience at the crease.
Rahul, making a comeback to the Test side after being left out of the team midway through the tour of Australia, after having also failed in England and South Africa, has had scores of 44 and 38 in this game, getting out twice to modest off-spin bowling of Roston Chase.
"Technique and everything is over-rated - when you get runs everything looks good. So it was important for me to spend time in the middle," he told media after stumps on Day 3 with genuine question marks over his methods and psyche for Test match batting.
"(I am) very disappointed but there are a lot of things I’m doing right. (I) Just need to keep my head down and show some patience. I just have to prolong the good things I’m doing until I get to 35-45. I’m batting well, I looked comfortable in both the innings and my head-space is very good. Happy about a lot of things."
"If I can keep my patience and keep batting the way I do in the first 60-80 balls, if I continue to do that for 200-250 balls then it’ll obviously benefit me and the team."
Rahul had scores of 2, 44, 2, 0 before he was dropped in Australia ahead of the Melbourne Test. The 27-year-old could luckily find a place in the squad for this series after suspension to incumbent Prithvi Shaw as selectors decided to give domestic performers Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Easwaran more time before they can transition to the game at the highest level.
"I never felt that there was anything drastically wrong with my technique in Australia. It was just one of those phases that every batsman goes through. When you are in that phase it’s challenging to get out but a great player will find his way out," he said.
The talented right-hander then gave an insight into his mindset at the point of that reverse sweep he got out bowled playing in the second innings.
"Sometimes, when you plan a sweep or a paddle-sweep, there is a certain percentage of premeditation. I had played the off-spinner for 5-6 overs and I knew the lines he was bowling."
"I was thinking about runs and since I hit him for a boundary before the (wicket-taking) ball, I knew he would try to bowl a better length which would be easy for me to paddle. Unfortunately, I didn’t execute the shot really well."
"Lot of things seem right when they come off. If they don’t, you can sit and dissect on a lot of things. Unfortunately, it’s a battle he won," Rahul concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
