Video of KL Rahul 80 Runs : 6 Fours 3 Sixes : IND vs AUS

India vs Australia, 2nd ODI, 17 January, 02:30 PM IST

Match Result : India won by 36 runs

Man of the Match : KL Rahul

Match Report : India have made a phenomenal comeback. They’ve risen from the humiliation of four consecutive home losses to Australia; from the soul-crushing, gut-wrenching ten-wicket loss at the Wankhede, a venue that has seen many an iconic Indian win and finally, they’ve replied in an attempt to reinforce the belief that the Wankhede nightmare was a just an exception.

It all began with Manish Pandey’s one-handed stunner to get rid of Warner – India’s first wicket over two innings in this series. The back of the openers was a good news, but they still had the two most timelessly stubborn souls in world cricket to tend to – Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. It really was the Kuldeep over that turned things around in favour of India. Yes, the exhibition of yorkers at the death was almost too good to be true, but it was Smith. It was always the wicket of Smith. That’s when India breathed easy.

Kuldeep: “It’s been tough four-five months after World Cup, but now I’m getting back in rhythm and bowling really well. Bowled six overs initially, they were batting well both Marnus and Smith.

When I came back for the last spell, I was looking for wickets. Found that wicket was slow. Later on, the ball gets softer too. So it’s difficult to hit if I bowl slower. Think I’m bowling at the perfect pace and in good areas.”

Aaron Finch | Australia captain: “I didn’t expect it to be cold. I didn’t think I’d need the long-sleeved sweater. I think we were one wicket shy of where we needed to be throughout the bowling innings, but they’re world class.

Zampa’s length has been fantastic so far. The way Smithy started today, and nearly got through to the end, but not quite. Marnus and Smith, the only time they’re apart is when they’re asleep.

I think on these tracks, it’s important to capitalize when the batsman gets in. We were always just one more wicket down than what we’d have liked at any stage of the chase and that’s when the required rate started getting out of reach.”

Virat Kohli | India captain: “We live in the days of social media and the panic button was pressed too early. It’s important to not leave someone like KL out. You saw how he batted today. This is probably the best he’s played at the international level. The knock showed maturity and class, and we know exactly what we’re doing in the dressing room. Important couple of games for Shikhar.” 

KL Rahul | Man of the Match | 80(52): “I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Each day I’ve been thrown different roles and responsibilities and I’m enjoying it for now. Batting at 5, I wanted to give myself a few balls, you know what the wicket is doing and Virat said that it’s coming on nicely.

A few came off the middle, and I was confident I could score, and everything else faded away. Glad I got some partnerships going and played my role to the best of my abilities. Kuldeep told me my ‘keeping was good too.

I grew up ‘keeping but I didn’t do it a lot for my first-class team, but in the last few weeks I did keep for Karnataka, so I’ve been in decent wicketkeeping touch, so hopefully I can keep my spinners and fast bowlers happy.”

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