The Indian wicket-keeping batsman, KL Rahul has been going through a lot of burden of standing behind the stumps and batting at his own pace, but he enjoying the additional responsibility as it is bringing the best out of him. Rahul went on to play a whirlwind knock of 56 runs in just 27 balls during which he did a huge 99-run partnership with the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli set up the base for India to chase 204 with an over to spare against New Zealand in the opener T20 of the five-match series.
Talking about his additional responsibility after the Auckland T20I, Rahul said, “I’m quite honestly loving it. At the international stage, it might seem very new and it might seem like I’ve never kept. (But) I’ve kept for my IPL franchise for the last 3-4 years, and I’ve kept for my first-class team as and when there is an opening. As a keeper, that’s also your responsibility to stay active and pass the message on to your captain as to what lengths are better and what I feel we can do better.”
Talking about Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 58 off 29 balls, Rahul said he executes the plans so correctly.
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Rahul further explained, “We have seen for a while that in crunch situations we have lacked someone who can to take the team through and win. But the way Shreyas, Shivam (Dube) and even Manish (Pandey) started striking the ball way from the moment they went in. When you’re chasing over 200, you need a boundary in every over. And the execution was very impressive today. He showed that responsibility in the last ODI too and here too. Those are great signs for us.”
Rahul, who was dropped from the Test side following a disastrous tour of Australia early last year, has made a strong comeback strongly and has become one of the most consistent performers in the limited-overs cricket. He said that in recent times he has learned that he has the ability to score run by playing cricketing shots and he can carry forward that belief.
Talking about India’s start of the series with a win on Friday has been a result of their adaptation and experience it will help them to the matches ahead.
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The Indian opener further added, “As a bowling unit, we have a fair idea of what lines and lengths we have to bowl.As a batting unit, the dimensions and shape of the ground will be a key point for us. It’s our first game so, obviously, we’ll get better with the lengths we bowl like a bowling unit and fielding also, it’s a differently-shaped ground.”
