Birmingham: The non-striker has one of the best views in a cricket ground. It’s not easy to curb one’s temptation, especially if the batsman at the other end is someone like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. K.L. Rahul who was involved in a 180-run stand for the opening wicket with Rohit said it would be foolish to try and imitate his partner.
“You would be a fool to be tempted to bat like Rohit because he is in a different class. He is on a different planet altogether when he gets going,” said Rahul.
The Karnataka batsman said Rohit often makes it look easy. “It wasn’t anything of the kind against Bangladesh. The pitch was two-paced, up and down, not coming on to the bat, but from the way he played you would not have known,” he said.
“We expect it from him and he is delivering every time. To bat with him is really easy because he takes the pressure off you. He keeps getting the boundaries and the scoreboard keeps ticking, I just have to keep there with him. It is great fun,” Rahul added.
Rahul was promoted up the order after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the World Cup. He opened the batting in a high-pressure game against Pakistan and made 57 to give India a blistering start. He struggled against England for a nine-ball duck, but came back strongly to score 77 against Bangladesh.
“Personally, I feel I have been going well, but am not fully satisfied as I haven’t carried on after some of the starts. When I say ‘convert’ I mean getting to, say, 35 or 45 overs as often as I can because in these conditions it is the set batsmen who can do the most damage,” Rahul said.
Rahul said members of Team India enjoyed a bit of a celebration in the dressing room after confirming their spot in the semifinals.
“We are two steps away from winning the trophy and that has been a dream we have worked towards for the past four years. We put in a clinical performance, we batted and bowled well, and we have this winning momentum. Now we have to make sure we keep our heads up and our eyes on what is happening,” he said.
