KL Rahul, India
KL Rahul. Image Credits: Twitter

India keeper-batsman KL Rahul rediscovered his stride in the first ODI against England in Pune as he slammed an unbeaten and crucial fifty. KL Rahul’s half-century and his pyrotechnics, along with Krunal Pandya, played a vital role in India’s 66-run victory on Tuesday. The 28-year old revealed that the talk in the dressing room is to play positively that enables them to put massive totals on the board.

Before KL Rahul’s fifty, he endured a string of low scores in the preceding T20 series as he managed three single-digit scores in the four matches he played. In many ways, Krunal Pandya’s counterpunch in the first ODI when the hosts went through a wobble helped KL Rahul come back in form. Rahul’s knock of 62 off 43 balls contained four fours and as many sixes.

KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya
KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya. (Credits: Twitter)

KL Rahul pointed out that when they endured a wobble in the first ODI against England, they still had ten overs to cut loose and make a comeback. Hence, the extra 40-50 runs that he and Krunal got proved to be critical and made a difference in the result.

Freedom comes with playing a lot more games, winning a lot more games together. In the last match, we were 200 for 5. But in the last ten overs, we thought we could make a comeback, and from that position get to 310-315. Those extra 40-50 runs that Krunal (Pandya) and I got, ended up being very crucial and made a difference,” Rahul stated during a virtual press conference.

When you play with freedom, you score 350-360 in 50 overs: KL Rahul

Virat Kohli, Dinesh KarthikIndia, Sanjay Bangar, Dinesh Karthik
India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series [Image-BCCI]
KL Rahul further stated that being continuously in situations like these help them to play to full potential and not worry even if the top-order struggles. The keeper-batsman underlined that the talk within the dressing room is to play with freedom as it helps to score 350-360 consistently or whatever the par total is. Thus, the more frequently they do that, the more confidence they will attain.

When you play more games like that, you as players and as a team realise that you have the potential to do that even if the top order doesn’t fire. The talk obviously is about playing with a lot of freedom. When you play with that kind of freedom, you end up scoring 350-360 runs in a 50-over game. It is about figuring out how, in every situation, we can get the team past 300 or 350 runs, whatever is good on that particular wicket on that particular day. The more regularly we do that, the more confident we will get as a batting group and as a team,” he added.

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