India's versatile batter KL Rahul returned to the opening position in Perth Test as skipper Rohit Sharma was on paternity leave and back-up opener Abhimanyu Easwaran did not impress in the Australian conditions. Rahul who was dropped from the playing XI after Bengaluru Test against New Zealand proved his worth with his approach. After a controversial dismissal in the first innings, he scored a half-century in the next and helped India dominate mighty Australians. Now, with a couple of days to go in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval, Rahul hasn't revealed whether he will bat as Rohit and Shubman Gill are set to walk into the playing XI.
"I just want to be in the playing XI, go out there and bat and play for the team. I just go there and try and see what I need to do to get runs in a particular situation. Luckily I have batted in different positions. Early on, when I was asked to bat at different positions, it was a bit of a challenge mentally. How to play those first 20-25 balls? how early can I attack? Those things were a problem earlier, but it has gotten easy with the experience of playing in different formats," Rahul told the reporters in a press conference in Adelaide.
Rahul continues form in warm-up game
Rahul improved his record in Australia and shared a record-breaking 201-run partnership with his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal. In the rain-curtailed 46 overs per side pink-ball practice match, he scored 27 runs from 44 balls before retiring to make way for Gill who is returning from a thumb injury sustained during match simulations.
Rahul on his maiden pink-ball Test
Rahul is aware of the challenge bowlers pose in the pink-ball Tests. Ahead of his maiden pink-ball Test appearance, Rahul is relying on experience of other batters in the team and put it into practice.
"This will be my first pink ball Test match. I don't have the game experience like some other players have in the team. It is just about speaking to the guys and get to know what were the things that they found hard and how did they manage to adjust and make changes. In practice, I felt that it was a little different in terms of how you watch this ball," he added.
The day/night Test at Adelaide Oval will begin on December 6. Currently, India are at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table.
