Image Source- AP
KL Rahul was at the crease twelve balls into India’s
attempt to reach 200. He was batting at No. 5 and had just completed nearly 50
overs of wicket-keeping during a humid Chennai afternoon. He later admitted
that it was all a “bit of a rush” after batting through the remainder
of the chase to help India defeat Australia with six wickets remaining.
Asked at the post-match presentation – while he picked
up the Player of the Match award – what the conversation was with his batting
partner Virat Kohli was when he came out to bat in that precarious position, he
offered a smile and said: “Quite honestly, not a lot of conversation. I
was just trying to catch my breath as I just had a shower. I thought I would
get a good half an hour – [or] an hour’s – break, put the feet up and just rest
up. But I was out there in no time, so there was a bit of rush. I was just
trying to get my breath back.”
On a more sombre note, Kohli stated that he
anticipated the pair would need to bat in Test matches for a while in order to
get India back on track on a difficult Chepauk pitch, where India’s spinners
had previously dictated terms before Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer
– that is, three of India’s top four – were dismissed for ducks by Josh
Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
“Virat said there’s big help in the wicket, and
[we] just have to play proper shots and play like it’s Test cricket for some
time and see where it goes,” Rahul said. “That was mostly the plan,
and happy that we could do the job for the team.”
How tough exactly was it to bat on this pitch, then?
Tricky, till the dew came in, Rahul said. “There was a bit of help for the
fast bowlers with the new ball when we bowled. And later on the spinners came
in and they had a lot help from the wicket.
“But I think towards the end – in the last 15-20
overs – the dew played a bit of a part for them; while they were bowling, they
changed the ball as well. Once that happened, it did come on a little
better.”
When asked about his own anxiety during India’s historic
collapse to 2 for 3, India captain Rohit Sharma admitted it. It was the first
time in men’s ODI cricket that three of their top four batsmen were dismissed
for ducks, and no team had ever gone on to win an ODI after losing three
wickets with as few runs on the board.
“You don’t want to start your innings like that
when you are chasing that kind of a target,” Rohit said. “But you’ve
got to give credit to the Aussies – they bowled pretty well. Some loose shots
there as well [from India], but that happens. When you have that kind of a
target, you want to get off the mark as quickly as possible; try and score as
many as possible in the powerplay.
“But hats off to Virat and KL – how they stuck in
the middle out there and created that match-winning partnership.”