KL Rahul Ready to Pad Up, Akash Deep Advised to ‘Calm Down’: Inside India’s Dressing Room Drama

KL Rahul Ready to Pad Up, Akash Deep Advised to ‘Calm Down’: KL Rahul has disclosed that he entertained batting again when India were all but finished on 213 with the ninth wicket gone on Day 4 of the Gabba Test in Brisbane against Australia. He admitted that being the highest scorer for India in the first innings with 84, the concern was regarding the follow-on threat and preparing himself for a second go that day.

However, that didn't happen, thankfully for him and the entire team, as the last couple of wickets, Jasprit and Akash, put on an incredible last-wicket stand of 39 unbeaten runs to take India to 252/9 at stumps and, in the process, avoid the dreaded follow on.

Also Read: Yogi Adityanath Responds to Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Palestine’ Bag, Highlights UP’s Support for Israel

India takes a deep breath now within themselves, but the match is actually in a better frame than before, though it surely is not out of the woods yet. The chances of the match ending in a draw look most likely, with two more innings to unfold over three sessions, rain notwithstanding. Having said that, it wasn't always the case. With 33 runs needed and one wicket hand, India feared the worst, admits Rahul, which prompted the opener to prepare himself to approach the second innings mentally should the need arise.

"It's very good to see when the lower order chips in and scores runs. That's something we discuss a lot in our meetings and the bowlers work really hard on their batting as well. Really good to see that they can go there and get that little partnership and avoid the follow-on. [It] makes a huge difference knowing that there is a bit of rain around and so much of the match has been lost because of it. We had to find a way to stay in the game and Akash and Bumrah did that. Good way to end the day for us," Rahul said about Akash and Bumrah's effort.

"At that stage (213/9), I was thinking more about going and padding up and trying to go back to bad. I'm not sure if they would have enforced the follow-on, so I was thinking about what I need to do about my batting. But it's always nice to see bowlers go out there and get some runs, they put in a lot of efforts in the nets and when it mattered today, I'm happy that they could really play some shots and very exciting shots. It was a very exciting contest in the last half an hour… not just the runs that they got but also the heart that they showed to keep away the bouncers, get behind the ball, defend well, play some nice shots. It will give them and the team a lot of confidence."

Also Read: Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Patil Announces Indefinite Fast Starting January 25

Akash Deep urged to 'calm down'

But there isn't an easy way into this 'avoid follow-on'. Probe, probe, probe, as the Australians kept doing but hats off to Bumrah and Akash for highly tempered restraint in their focus. Not for any batter was big shots on his shots and even grounds played orthodox strokes. Akash's strong back-foot punches would be admired by an assortment of top-order batters.

But the one time Akash tried to whack one straight out of the middle, India needed just four. Immediately, the team management took action once Akash's concentration was noticed by them. An image will show a virat kohli step out from the dressing room balcony to say a few words while Rahul explains the whole process regarding it.

"It's very simple. Try and get those runs. Don't have to try and do it with a boundary but just knock it around with singles. They (Australia) had spread the field so the singles were there to be taken. So just stay a bit more patient because just before the message went out, we saw that Akash tried to hit a boundary, so just a message to calm down and see if they can get 5-6 singles and avoid the follow-on," he added.

Akash got his swing of the long handle when he smashed Pat Cummins deep into the stands over long-on.

Also Read: ‘Am I a Toy?’: Senior NCP Leader Questions Party Leadership Over Maharashtra Cabinet Snub