CHENNAI: Those were still early days in his international career when KL Rahul was batting at the nets on a cold morning in Ireland in 2018.
Virat Kohli, the captain, keenly watched the right-hander playing some of those exquisite drives on a difficult practice pitch, then told somebody in the team management: “Kya player hain yaar (what a player he is)!”.
Rahul has had a topsy-turvy ride in international cricket since then, but the team management never lost faith in him. They stuck with him through difficult times, waited for him during his injuries, and come the home World Cup, the right-hander is showing that Virat’s confidence in him all those years ago was not misplaced.
At three down for 2 on a difficult pitch against a quality pace trio and a couple of very capable white-ball spinners, Rahul and Virat stitched together a partnership of 165 runs that helped India romp home on Sunday. Rahul’s 97 not out was a mixture of everything that makes a fantastic middle-order player.
He was ready to bide his time, cutting down on the shots in his armoury, waiting for the right opportunity and then bringing his entire repertoire into play.
You could be spoilt for choice if you’re asked to select Rahul’s best Sunday shot. But probably the one (or two) that would stand out are the two late-cuts that he played off leggie Adam Zampa in the 18th over.
1/10:World Cup: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul guide nervy India to 6-wicket win over Australia
2/10:Defiant knocks by Kohli and Rahul
<p>Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hit defiant knocks to lift India from a perilous three down for two runs to a six-wicket win over Australia in their opening World Cup match on Sunday.<br /></p>PTI
3/10:India lose three inside two overs
<p>Chasing a tricky target of 200, India lost three batsmen, who all failed to score, inside two overs before Kohli (85) and Rahul (97 not out) put on 165. Victory was secured with 52 balls to spare.<br /></p>
4/10:Jadeja shines at Chepauk
<p>Spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned figures of 3-28 to help bowl out Australia for 199 in 49.3 overs in the 150th ODI meeting between the two cricket giants.<br /></p>AP
5/10:Starc sends back Ishan early
<p>Australia's fast bowlers then came out all guns blazing to rattle the Indian top-order after left-arm quick Mitchell Starc sent back Ishan Kishan for a duck in the first over.<br /></p>AP
6/10:Hazlewood dismisses Rohit and Shreyas in one over
<p>Josh Hazlewood struck twice in the next to remove skipper Rohit Sharma lbw and then Shreyas Iyer caught at cover also for nought to silence the home crowd of 32,531.<br /></p>Getty Images
7/10:Marsh drops Kohli and the match too!
<p>Hazlewood nearly made it four down when he got Kohli to top-edge a delivery only for Mitchell Marsh to drop a skier. Kohli was on 12 at the time.<br /></p>Reuters
8/10:Gritty fifties by Kohli, Rahul
<p>Kohli scored his 67th ODI half-century and raised his bat to acknowledge the loud cheers. Rahul soon reached his fifty in the 28th over as India went to 106-3 and in control.<br /></p>
9/10:Hazlewood finally sends Kohli back
<p>Kohli finally fell to Hazlewood, caught out at mid-wicket and walked off to a standing ovation.<br /><br /></p>ANI
10/10:Rahul finishes it off in style!
<p>Rahul hit the winning six with Hardik Pandya at the other end.<br /><br /></p>PTIThere were immediate references to the undisputed master of that stroke — GR Viswanath — who had also scored a magnificent 97 not out against West Indies at Chepauk in the 1975 Test match that India won.
“It’s purely coincidental that both scored 97 not out but it brought back memories. Vishy had the incredible ability to play the late-cut looking at the bowler instead of the ball. Much later in 1987, when he was retired from international cricket, he played that shot to me in an office game as I bowled him an armer on a turning track. The ball raced away to the fence between slip and short thirdman. These two shots of Rahul were really out of the Vishy playbook,” Sunil Subramaniam, a renowned former Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner and the man who mentored R Ashwin, told TOI.
While Rahul’s finesse was one of the talking points of the day, it was his new-found ability to bite the bullet and carry on in difficult conditions that deserves special mention.
1/10:World Cup: India vs Australia numbers and stats
Reuters
2/10:India beat Australia
<p>India fought back from 2/3 — the lowest score at which the 3rd wicket has fallen from which a team has gone on to win an ODI — to beat Australia by 6 wickets. </p>TNN
3/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have provided the first instance of three Indian batters out of the top four registering ducks in an ODI innings. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Virat Kohli, KL Rahul
<p>The 165-run stand between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul was India's best against Australia for any wicket in a World Cup game. </p>PTI
5/10:The match-winning stand
<p>The Kohli-Rahul partnership was also India's third-best for the fourth wicket in ODIs against Australia. </p>PTI
6/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs by an Indian in white-ball ICC tournaments. </p>AFP
7/10:Kohli vs Tendulkar
<p>Kohli's extraordinary achievement came in his 67th match with 2785 runs, surpassing Tendulkar's record of 2,719 runs in 61 matches. </p>PTI
8/10:Ravindra Jadeja
<p>Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), not only produced his best bowling performance in the World Cup, but also his best vs Australia in ODIs. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Jadeja in World Cup
<p>Jadeja's previous best in the World Cup was 2/23 vs UAE at Perth on February 28, 2015. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Steve Smith
<p>Jadeja has dismissed Steve Smith 11 times, including five times this year, in 37 matches in international cricket. </p>TNN“We always know what Rahul brings to the team, the quality that he has especially in the middle order. He is someone who can play both spinners and pacers well and that gives you a little bit of stability and confidence,” Team India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said at the mixed zone after the game.
While Rahul was a picture of confidence, having the master himself at the other end only helped the 31-year-old, who had also kept wickets for four hours in the heat of Chennai.
“I had just taken a shower and was looking to put my feet up for a while when I had to go in to bat. Not that there were a lot of conversations, but Virat told me to treat it like a Test match situation and I am happy I could do that,” Rahul said.
Now it’s up to him to carry on with it, but the early signs are truly promising.
