KL Rahul was offered a lifeline off the opening delivery by Steve Smith on December 17 (Tuesday), and the star batter made the most of it by hitting a gutsy fifty in India's first innings of the Gabba Test on Day 4. As the top-order collapsed around him, Rahul, who went back to opening during the current series, was India's finest batter in Brisbane. The great Sunil Gavaskar has finally clarified why Rahul has performed better with bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thus far than his fellow teammates.
Sunil Gavaskar on Rahul's success
Having scored more than 200 runs in the Border-Gavaskar series thus far, KL Rahul has established himself as one of India's dependable and consistent batting options. Rahul has weathered the AUS pace onslaught and chosen his chances to make steady progress, while the rest of the Indian top order quickly fell apart. Gavaskar clarified that he stays "still" and that his head position aids in his ability to judge the ball's line. Gavaskar said on India Today talking about how KL Rahul is doing well but not others.
"He is very still at the crease. There is a little trigger movement, but his head is upright, and that’s the reason why he is able to judge where the off-stump is and leave those deliveries. And that is so essential. When the ball is hard and new, and bowlers are on top, you need to give them respect for the first half-an-hour or 45 minutes, because the next 5 hours are yours," said Gavaskar.
India on Day 4
Cummins got rid of Rohit for the sixth time in 12 innings. His dismissal was followed by a 67-run partnership between KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja that steadied the Indian innings. Rahul who was dropped off a sitter on the first ball of the day, made the most of his reprieve from Steve Smith.
With the aid of several stunning shots, he reached 84, but Smith's amazing catch diving to his right at first slip prevented him from reaching a well-earned hundred. However, Jadeja, who is still undefeated at 47, and Nitish Kumar Reddy (10*) brought India to 186/6, 259 runs behind Australia at the time of writing.
