India batsman KL Rahul talked about his experience batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal during the Perth Test victory ahead of the pink-ball, day-night Test match against Australia. He said he noticed a little bit of the younger Rahul in the 22-year-old, who is also travelling to Australia for the first time, just like Rahul did in 2014.
When Jaiswal and Rahul take the pitch for the second Test at Adelaide Oval, the cricket technicians and Test-loving purists will undoubtedly be expecting yet another masterclass from them at the top. In addition to shattering other records in Perth, their double-century partnership in the second innings set the stage for an overwhelming 295-run victory.
After a first innings duck, Jaiswal went on to smash an incredible 161 in his first Test match in Australia, while KL produced a vital knock of 77. During the pre-game news conference, KL stated that after scoring only 150 runs in the first innings, they discussed scoring some huge runs in the second innings to advance in the match. Additionally, he claimed to have imparted to Jaiswal some knowledge he had gained during the course of his ten years of playing in Australia.
“I do not think we’ve batted together before this. In the first innings, we did not really get enough time. He got out really early. But we did have a few chats before in training sessions as well and I tried to share whatever little I have learned from playing here in Australia and facing up against the new ball. So those were the conversations that we had. But in the second innings, obviously, it was a really important period that second day where we had to put runs on board and we knew if we could do that, we will be ahead in the game,” said the batter.
Like his former opening partner Murali Vijay used to do when Rahul was first starting out, Rahul claimed that batting alongside Jaiswal allowed him to see aspects of himself in the 22-year-old star and that he attempted to soothe and mentor him through various game stages.
“I have realised how important the opening partnership is when you travel overseas. So just try to speak to him, calm him down. Like I said, I saw a little bit of myself when I was here 10 years ago opening the batting for the first time,” he said.
“A lot of doubts, a lot of nerves. You keep doubting your own game and there is a lot that happens in your head. So the only thing that you can do is to slow things down, try and take a few deep breaths and focus on one thing.”
“And that is what was passed on to me by my fellow opening partner back then, Murali Vijay. So I just passed that on to him. And again, it is the same again with him,” KL concluded his point. Rahul said that once Jaiswal played those first 30-40 balls, he started to feel more confident.
“He was seeing the ball really well and he batted beautifully. So it was just about trying to help him in that first 30-40 balls and then he was good to go,” he signed off. The Adelaide Test, starting on December 6, sees India entering with both a mental and physical edge, following a dominant performance in the first Test led by Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling and captaincy.
The tourists, nevertheless, will also have to shake off the memory of the notorious 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, in which they were dismissed after scoring just 36 runs, their lowest Test score. That time, Australia had an easy goal of 90 runs to chase after Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) destroyed the Indian batting lineup. India’s record-breaking 295-run triumph in Perth has put them ahead 1-0 in the BGT series. Adelaide will host the second Test in a day-night format starting on Friday.