(Image source: X.com)
India won the recently-concluded ODI series versus Australia 2-1. While skipper Rohit Sharma donned the captaincy hat in the third ODI as he marked his return, India had gained an unassailable 2-0 lead under KL Rahul’s captaincy.
Marshaling his troops in the first two fixtures, Rahul led his side from the front, scoring two consecutive fifties.
He batted in the middle-order and has been in tremendous form ever since making his comeback from an injury in the Asia Cup 2023.
One of the best middle-order batters going around in the ODIs currently, Rahul, talked about what it takes to bat at number four and five positions.
The 31-year-old started his ODI career as an opener, however, made a shift to the middle-order later on.
“Batting at four and five doesn’t feel like a huge difference. But yes, having opened the batting all my life – dropping to No. 5 seemed very different. I have been given that role for the last couple of years and I have played at that position for a long period of time,” Rahul said in a post-match chat with JioCinema.
“So, I understand the changes I have to make technically and mentally and when to take risks. Also, I had some time away from the game – went back and saw a couple of videos of players who have done really well at No.4 and 5 and how they lead their innings. So, when I go into the middle I asses the conditions and execute the best that I can,” he added.
He also opined on India’s performance in the recent matches, emphasising on the fact that the team has done well lately and would want to continue this momentum in the ODI World Cup 2023, which starts on October 5.
“The last few weeks have put everyone in a similar mindset. The Asia Cup was really important for us, every game was a must-win game, and we were playing very competitive games. Same here during this series, we played a very good Australian side and they have had the edge over us in India in the last couple of years. So, we tried to do our best – we were assigned very specific roles and asked to execute them the best we could. Luckily for us, a lot of guys did that really well. So hopefully, we can build on that and get better as a team,” Rahul stated.