India opener KL Rahul, on Thursday, revealed that he had one eye on the South Africa tour even while playing against Sri Lanka recently. The lack of practice games before the start of the tour prompted the Karnataka batsman to request the curator at Bangalore to prepare wickets that are similar to South Africa, reported Indian Express.
Rahul acknowledged the task at hand as prepares to take on Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander, “Whenever I got the time, I have prepared keeping the South Africa series in mind rather than the Sri Lanka one that came first. I’ve been practising against the bouncing ball; they are the No 1 bowling attack in the world,” Rahul said.
“They have different skills, they have swing and bounce. They are the best side at home and it will be challenging for a guy like me, who is travelling to South Africa for the first time. The conditions will be what I have not faced before. You take some time to adjust to the conditions, but once I do, I think I’ll enjoy the high-quality fast bowling,” he added.
The preparation
Rahul says he prepared meticulously to combat the mighty Proteas, which included stepping out early in the morning for practice and playing on grassy wickets: “I made him leave a lot of grass, make the wicket spongy and also leave a little moisture so that the ball does a bit. My sessions were early in the morning too, for good measure,” he said.
“You can replicate the conditions somewhat but never the quality of bowling you’ll have to contend with at international level.”
The 25-year-old has had a whirlwind year, cementing his place in the Test team before ending the season on a somber note after being ignored for the limited overs series against South Africa. Rahul observed that to survive against the South African pace battery, shot selection holds the key, “On Indian wickets, especially since we’re going from having played the shorter formats, pitches don’t do much, so you can stand and play a lot of shots.
“Once you go there, there will be a lot of seam movement. You will have to leave a lot of balls, especially against the new ball, and be selective in your strokes. You have to give yourself some time to get set.”
