KL Rahul lauds India's bowling display in the first Test against Bangladesh

India prised out a significant result in their favour in the first Test as they managed to get the better of Bangladesh despite a resilient battle from the hosts, even though it came in patches. KL Rahul did a phenomenal job of leading the Indian side to a fine win in the absence of Rohit Sharma who is still recovering from the thumb injury that he copped during the second ODI against Bangladesh.

As things calmed down after India’s victory in the first Test, India’s stand-in skipper, KL Rahul opened up about his concerns and beliefs. He was worried at the first go as there was an air of uncertainty to India’s body language, especially considering the fact that India played their last Test 9 months ago.

Talking in a press conference, Rahul said, “I am very proud that throughout the Test match our energy and intensity has really been high and we've maintained that throughout. Through the last five days we've shown great commitment towards the team and we haven't played Test cricket in sometime so there was a bit of worry coming in about how the bodies would react and how we would be able to be on the park for so long and still maintain our focus and intensity. I think we did that really well and that's really pleasing."

India managed to secure a healthy lead in the first innings that proved to be the unravelling for the hosts. Talking about the same, Rahul said, “Yes. It [the lead] gave us a lot of time. If Bangladesh had got 300, 350 this game was headed to a draw. We would have tried to make a game out of it, but that would have become hard. But once you bundle a team out for 100 or 150, it gives you a lot of time to bat another 50 or 60 overs and put them into bat again for two days. That is something which gave our bowlers time."

The Indian skipper seemed pretty happy with the Men in Blue’s performance as he added, “Yes there are areas that we can improve, but I'll take the win. Everyone performed. Kuldeep with the ball in the first innings, Siraj in the first innings as well. Even the bowlers who didn't take wickets supported the guys really well.”

He concluded by talking about India’s whirlwind spin department, stating, “In the second innings I think Axar bowled really well but Ash [Ashwin] and Kuldeep really kept the pressure on. Umesh and Siraj bowled really, really good spells, kept it tight and beat the bat a couple of times and they were unfortunate. Overall it was a really, really good performance and this is what we want to do as a team.”