'Had Just Taken A Shower..': Rahul Explains Why There 'Weren't A Lot Of Conversations' When He Joined Kohli At 2/3 Against Australia
IND vs AUS: Rahul scored 97* as India beat Australia by 6 wickets and 52 balls remaining.
India got off to a winning start in their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as they registered a 6-wicket victory against five-time champions Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday (Octover 8). India first bowled Australia out for 199 with their spinners weaving magic at Chepauk. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, as he scalped 3 wickets for 28 runs. The other spinners were equally effective with Kuldeep Yadav picking 2 wickets for 42 runs and Ravichandran Ashwin ending with figures of 1/34.
In a modest-looking run-chase, India were in deep trouble, losing three of their top four batters- Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer- for a duck for the first time in an ODI fixture as the Men in Blue were reduced to 3 wickets for just 2 runs the board. Mitchell Starc got rid of Kishan in the first over while Josh Hazlewood removed Rohit and Iyer in the second over which is when KL Rahul joined Virat Kohli in the middle and added 165 runs for the fourth wicket which paved the way for their win.
Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 while Kohli scored 85. The wicketkeeper-batter was adjudged the Player Of the Match. Speaking after the match, he explained the circumstances under which he came in to bat. After having kept wickets for the entire 50 overs, Rahul said that he was expecting some break but India's early wickets meant he had to rush out to bat which is why he was just catching his breath as India found themselves at 3 down for 2 runs.
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"There weren't a lot of conversations with Kohli. I had just taken a shower and was hoping to put my feet up for half an hour after the fielding innings, but I had to come in. Virat said that I should play like Test cricket for a bit. Happy to play this for the team," he said at the post-match presentation.
"There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on. Towards the end, the dew played a bit of a part for them. It was still two-paced. It wasn't a great wicket to bat on, neither was it too difficult. I think it was a good cricket wicket, that's what you get in South of India especially in Chennai. (Last shot) I hit it too well. I wanted to get a hundred by going four and six. Hopefully some other time I can get it," he added explaining the look of disappontment after the hitting the winning shot.
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