Ambati Rayudu lay motionless inside the batting crease while the RCB players along with thousands present in the Chinnaswamy stadium went berserk. Umesh Yadav went on a jig of his own, evading all his approaching teammates. He had just scripted a turn around with only one stump to aim from backward point. About 40 yards to the left of Yadav, away from all the pandemonium, Rayudu had just managed to pull himself up. Swallowing the twin bitter pill of being run out for the third time in last four innings and not being there till the end, Rayudu ventured off, but not before raising his bat to a thunderous applause for his 82. There was disappointment, yes, but no sign of anguish.


A couple of nights ago, Rayudu was run out in an even uglier fashion. Yet, he walked up to his partner Raina, gave him a mid-pitch hug and went into the shade with a broad smile and with 79 quality runs beside his name.    







 


The Rayudu of old would have reacted adversely to the above two run outs, like he did in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final against Karnataka by throwing his keeping gloves in anger before walking off the field after his side had conceded 347, bowling first. Or even when he picked up a bad name for getting involved in a roadside spat with a senior citizen last year, but not the Rayudu in yellow.  


Among a host of similarities between his last two knocks – in both behavioural traits and innings construction – there was one striking difference. Rayudu opened the batting last night against Royal Challengers but his 79 against Sunrisers came batting at No.4, prompting literally everyone to hail his adaptability as a batsman. The truth however, is slightly different. If he has changed anything at all in the last few months, it’s his mental adaptability, ability to cope with failure and learning to channelize his anger into performance.


“The last year had been difficult. Coming off a long injury lay-off never helps. But the time away from the game helped me to work on a lot of other things, the mental aspect to be exact. I’m now fully ready, both physically and mentally,” Rayudu told Wah Cricket in an exclusive chat.







 


Rayudu’s adaptability as a cricketer was never in question. There are few cricketers going around, who are equally effective batting anywhere from opening to No. 6, better than Rayudu. While his two ODI centuries came in batting at No.3, he averages a healthy 41 batting at No. 4, where he has played most of his innings (12) for India. Even in the IPL, his batting order has never been constant. He batted in every position with different degrees of success for Mumbai Indians over the years and did not shy away from taking the keeping gloves for both Mumbai Indians in IPL and Hyderabad in domestic matches. In fact, Rayudu batted at No. 6 in the entire Vijay Hazare trophy for Hyderabad because as a captain he felt the team lacked an experienced finisher. The problem with Rayudu was never his batting it was always his inability to control his emotions, both on and off the field.


Rayudu obviously did not need a boot camp like Dinesh Karthik to add stability to his cricketing career. His Abhishek Nayar was his family. “My career was not going into the right direction, that’s when my family supported me, helped me understand that values are more important than the runs I score. They gave me confidence when I was down,” said Rayudu.


That is where MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings have done wonders with Rayudu. They have shown confidence on him by assuring him of a spot in the playing XI, that created a home away from home for the Hyderabad right-hander. 


“One thing was where to make him play. Had to make space for him because I've always rated him highly. I've seen him bat up the order, he looks confident. Whenever he hits the big shots, he maintains the shape. He's somebody who can bat at different numbers. But I prefer him opening the batting," Dhoni said.


Just like Dhoni, Rayudu too was unsure about his role in Chennai Super Kings. “I came in with zero expectation, was ready to perform any role or bat in any position,” Raidu added.


However, opening surely would not have crossed his mind at the start of the season, which he has made his own so far. After scoring 283 runs – the highest so far - in six IPL matches for Super Kings, Rayudu still doesn’t know when he will come out to bat in the next match. But he definitely knows that he would make the most of it whenever he gets an opportunity and even if he doesn’t, he won’t let the disappointment get the better of him.