KL Rahul highlights the positives of batting at number five in ODIs

India secured an emphatic win against Sri Lanka even though it initially seemed that the Lankans had a fair share of chance to secure a victory at the Eden Gardens as the cream of the Indian batting was back in the pavilion in a short span of time. However, things started turning for the better with Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Axar Patel and eventually Kuldeep Yadav packing a theatrical flourish to cap it off for the hosts.

Even though it took the Indians a good deal of resilience, the presence of KL Rahul dissipated any demons in the minds of the Indians. Rahul started on a slow note and eventually sprang forth to action as India comfortably motored along to the target. Another reason for this knock from Rahul to be special was because of the kind of conditions that India was playing against. It was hard to produce those all-important big hits and 215 on the cards seemed to be a pretty competitive total.

Coming out to bat at number 5, KL Rahul seemed a lot more comfortable and his runs are again starting to flow. He stitched together a couple of crucial partnerships with Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel before eventually dealing the telling blow alongside Kuldeep Yadav as Sri Lanka’s hopes were extinguished from the roots.

Talking in the post-match awards show, KL Rahul opened up at length about what Rohit Sharma told him, especially ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Rahul said, “At No. 5 you will be facing spin, I like the ball coming on to the bat. Ro (Rohit) is pretty clear that's where he wants me to bat (No. 5) and conveyed that to me.”

He also shed some light about his batting approach that stayed witness to him taking time, stating, “About batting at no. 5, one thing I really enjoy is that you don't rush back to bat (compared to the role of an opener). You can put your feet up, have a shower, have a good meal and react to the situation. If the team requires me to bat at a certain strike rate I try and do it to the best of my ability. More often than not just try and do the job the team wants has been my mindset."