KL Rahul stood out for India on the first day of the Bengaluru Test, and he showed how he could change gears against spinners, especially with wickets falling around him
Karthik Krishnaswamy in Bengaluru04-Mar-2017In the nets in the lead-up to the Bengaluru Test, KL Rahul was sweeping and reverse-sweeping pretty much every second ball of spin he faced. It was only to be expected, therefore, that he would try to sweep Nathan Lyon in his first over on the first morning of the Test, and reverse-sweep him in his next over. He ended up missing the sweep and sending the reverse ballooning off the back of his bat towards the vacant – and soon-to-be filled – leg-slip area.KL Rahul on…
Bengaluru pitch
“I think this is pretty much the same wicket we get for Ranji Trophy. Maybe the cracks start to open up at the end of the second day or the third day. But here the wicket was pretty dry and the cracks were prominent. Their bowlers, especially when Starc bowls from over the wicket, creates that rough for Lyon which helps them get that spin and bounce.”
Why it became difficult for India to score
“Once the spinners came on I felt that the wicket was a little damp in the first session. That’s why they were getting some spin and the ball was holding to the wicket. To drive or to go over the top wasn’t really easy. Once the ball got older and there was more rough outside the off stump, Lyon exploits the rough. He kept bowling there consistently and got some purchase out of the wicket.”
Nathan Lyon
“It gets a little difficult to play him if he starts getting some spin and bounce. He was very consistent, kept putting the ball there and kept asking questions. He got the rewards this innings.”
Ashwin potentially emulating Lyon
“That’s the only way we are looking at this match. The cracks are opening up and it’s only getting harder to bat on this wicket. We know Ash is a top-class bowler and once he gets a couple of wickets and gets into that rhythm then he is going to run through the Australian batting line-up, which we are very confident of.”
Lunch was approaching and Rahul, having just entered the forties, was looking a little edgy. On 30, he had been dropped by a diving Peter Handscomb at short mid-off, when he looked to drive Steve O’Keefe and ended up – not for the first time – playing well out in front of his body.India, at that point, were in a relatively solid position, their score 61 for 1 when Rahul played that miscued reverse-sweep. Either side of lunch, however, Lyon sent back Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli and India were far less secure at 88 for 3.Around this point, Rahul changed his approach against the spinners. He shelved the drive, and, barring one lap-sweep that he middled to present a half-chance to leg slip, the sweep as well, and began trusting his defence far more. With both spinners protecting the boundaries towards the direction of their turn, he was content to pick up singles to the deep fielders.It was about the most comfortable that India looked all day. Rahul added 30 with Ajinkya Rahane and 38 with Karun Nair, stumpings terminating both partnerships just as they were promising to grow into serious proportions.”That’s been my responsibility and the gameplan in the last six to eight months. As soon as the spinner comes on, it’s important for an opening batsman to not let him settle. So that’s what I tried to do,” Rahul said at the end of the day’s play, when asked about the thinking behind his change of approach. “The wicket was a little damp so [Lyon] was getting a lot of bounce.”I felt like if I swept I could get the top edge. They had the fielders back right from the first ball. We couldn’t really get the big hits or boundaries. So I looked to play time and tire out the bowlers. We were getting singles pretty easily when I was with Ajinkya and then when Karun came in. Strike was being rotated and we were getting three to four runs [an over] without any risk. That’s when I decided that I’ll be happy with the singles and maybe then they will pull the fielders in and I can take a chance. But that didn’t happen because we kept losing wickets at regular intervals.”KL Rahul fell short of yet another milestone falling on 90 trying to take the spinners on•AFPRahul may have had cause to feel miffed at how Rahane and Nair – who looked more fluent than pretty much every other Indian batsman while scoring 26 off 39 balls – were dismissed, but he was philosophical about it.”Karun and Ajinkya looked set, they were batting on 20 each, and looked set,” Rahul said. “We were getting runs quite easily. Our game plan was to attack the spinners whenever we could but sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. We have to take it in our stride and come back stronger.”Kohli’s dismissal was another point of debate – for the second time in successive innings, he was out not offering a shot to a spinner, this time lbw to Lyon, struck in front of middle stump.”Virat’s ball didn’t spin as much,” Rahul said. “The whole over it was spinning and bouncing and that ball went straight, which can happen.”In the end, Rahul fell ten short of a hundred when, running out of partners, he decided to go after the spinners and spooned Lyon to mid-off. By then, however, he had shown he was capable of batting at more than one gear. He hit eight fours in scoring 48 off 93 balls before lunch, and only one more while scoring a further 42 runs off 112 balls.The two phases of Rahul’s innings seemed like a reverse-chronological microcosm of his career so far: the all-format dasher turning back the clock and transforming into the technically correct, patient accumulator of his early years. At this point in his career, Rahul is still finding the balance between the two approaches, but innings such as this one – or his 158 in Jamaica or his 199 in Chennai – hint at the fully formed batsman he promises to grow into.
