In many ways, KL Rahul has turned a corner in his career when all seemed to go south at the start of the year.
A string of low scores in Australia saw him lose his place in the Test side. From being nowhere in the reckoning for a spot in India’s One-day International middle-order, the Indian Premier League – a tournament he clearly loves – resuscitated his prospects, and found himself slot in admirably at No 4 in the World Cup.
There were good performances at the top of the order too, and had firmly won over the team management’s confidence.
But his lack of big scores in red-ball cricket is a little perplexing, keeping in mind that this was a format he started out as a specialist.
On Saturday in Antigua, for the second time in the match, Rahul threw away a good start and was once again dismissed by all-rounder Roston Chase. In the first innings, he went chasing after a delivery that was drifting down the leg side and ended up nicking it to the ‘keeper. It was spinning so far away that he could have left that.
All signs pointed towards him correcting his mistake from the first essay; he had hardly put a foot wrong on day three for his patient 38. There was a little movement for the bowlers to work with but Rahul chose his scoring shots wisely. The footwork was assured and knew exactly when to leave.
Alas, this time, adventure got the better of him and was bowled around his legs. Another tepid end to a knock promised so much more.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s sturdy display in the final session would have indicated what Rahul missed out on. By that stage, the West Indian bowlers started to tire out as well and rotating strike became a lot easier. That being said, Rahane and Kohli made it look easy. The opener defended his shot selection that led to his wicket.
He said: “Since I had hit him [Chase] for a boundary before that ball I knew he would try to bowl a better length, which is easier for me to paddle. But unfortunately, I didn’t execute the shot really well.
“If I had put bat on the ball it would have probably gone for a four and then that would have put a lot more pressure on the bowler.”
Kohli and Rahane grinding out runs showed what it takes to consistently turn over big scores. Cheteshwar Pujara showed it through his brilliant efforts Down Under. Rahul, mysteriously, has had a below-par conversion rate when competition for places come at a premium in the Indian setup.
Taking out his stupendous effort against England at the Oval in the dead rubber last year, the 27-year-old’s previous century came three years ago.
“Technique and everything is overrated – when you get runs everything looks good,” Rahul said. “So it was important for me to spend time in the middle, I never felt that there was anything drastically wrong with my technique in Australia.”
Rahul looked all at sea against the new ball in Australia and with runs having dried up at the time. More than technique, he didn’t last long enough to see out the early threat, parts of which went his way against West Indies in Antigua.
“I’m happy about a lot of things, just if I can keep my patience and keep batting the way I do in the first 60-80 balls, if I continue to do that for 200-250 balls then it’ll obviously benefit me and the team.”
The frustrating manner of Rahul’s dismissals would have disappointed him. The maturity that he showed in the first innings, in particular, showed why the team have placed their faith in him. Three wickets fell in no time and Rahane, struggling for runs, looked scratchy at best. Not only did Rahul see out the danger well, but he also counter-punched with aplomb, playing some gorgeous shots square of the wicket.
With the pieces in the middle-order finally falling in place with Rahane coming good, stabilising the opening pair will now be the final frontier in this Indian batting order as they eye the Test Championship. Rahul has done enough to show why he should be given another run in white flannels. But in equal measure, there are times when his jarring switch in approach can undo his own good work.