New Chandigarh, Oct 4 — Indian wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul revealed that he has formed a blueprint on batting in different situations in ODIs in his mind, which helped him play an unbeaten knock of 129 runs against the West Indies in the third ODI on Saturday.
Rahul, who didn't get an opportunity to bat in the first two matches, made the best use of the chance he got in the final match of the three-match series at the new PCA stadium and hit his career-best score in 50-over cricket.
However, his effort was overshadowed by West Indies captain Shai Hope’s unbeaten 162 as the visitors chased down the target with 10 balls to spare.
Rahul said he spends considerable time thinking about how he wants to approach his batting in different scenarios, with his role at No. 5 requiring a slightly different blueprint in ODI cricket.
“I think for me, it’s very important for me to have prepared really well. And I put a lot of focus on how I prepare. "I am someone who sits down and thinks about how I want to play my cricket and how I want to bat in certain scenarios,” Rahul said in a BCCI video.
“And when I’m batting at number five, I won’t say there’s a fixed template, but there’s a little bit of a blueprint in my head as to this is how I’m going to play in ODI cricket. And when it comes to the test, there’s something that there’s a game plan for. And that for me is most important,” he added.
Rahul walked in with India in trouble at 160/4 after Rohit Sharma’s 92 and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 57 had steadied the innings following the early dismissals of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli.
He initially played the supporting role before accelerating towards the end. Rahul reached his fifty from 41 balls and brought up his ninth ODI hundred off 80 deliveries with a fine shot over a fine leg off Jayden Seales in the 49th over. He then finished unbeaten on 129, helping India add 105 runs in the final 10 overs.
Rahul said the ability to switch into match mode comes naturally when representing India, but he has focused heavily on controlling the aspects of his game that are within his reach.
“You know, when you play for India, when you’re representing your country, and when you walk out trying to face up to that first ball, and there are so many people who have come to watch you and you’re wearing the blues or you’re wearing the white, you’re representing your country, and you’re wearing your colours. I don’t think it takes too much time to switch on,” he said.
“So you, I think, as players, automatically switch on when you’re in that moment. The things that I’ve really worked on are the things that I can control: my game plan and my preparation. And if I can tick those boxes, then I feel quite switched on,” he added.
Rahul’s knock also came on a significant personal day as he crossed 10,000 runs in international cricket, joining a select group of Indian players to reach the landmark.
“A handful of people in our country have been able to achieve 10,000 runs overall. So yeah, a very special moment for me, for my coaches, for my family,” he said.
“It’s been quite a journey; this thing I’ve seen ups and downs and everything that can happen in an athlete’s career. I think I’ve been through that, and I’m very grateful for all of that. And yeah, just to get an opportunity today to be in the middle and back and score some runs for the team felt good. "Really good day, and I’m very happy,” Rahul added.