We turned up and that is a big tick mark for us – KL Rahul

For a second consecutive match in Asia Cup 2023, KL Rahul played another resolute innings that saw him helping India out of the immediate jeopardy that was inflicted upon them, this time by young left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage. Rahul also put up a crucial partnership with Ishan Kishan, helping India past the 150-run mark before he departed for an important 39. 

Talking in an interview after India’s win over Sri Lanka, Rahul opened up on the minute aspects that fine-tuned the Indian unit into an unstoppable force despite having a few runs on the board. 

Acknowledging his team’s efforts, Rahul said, “It was amazing, we were tested throughout. We were not on the field for 100 overs but how many ever overs we were there it tested us physically, great to see we turned up today and gave it our best. We turned up and that is a big tick mark for us as a team.”

He also talked about the partnership between him and Kishan, adding, “Always happy when I contribute to the team, when you are batting in the middle order it is important to build partnerships. I have been out for 4-5 months, I will take anything that comes, it was a crucial partnership with Kishan.”

Rahul further added, “Third day in a row playing at the same venue, bit of spin but we managed it really well, we were 20-30 runs short, few more partnerships could have got us to 230-240.”

He concluded by talking about his tip to Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Samarawickrama’s wicket, adding, “When you are behind the stumps, you have a good idea as to what the batter is doing and I just passed on the message, luckily it worked for Kuldeep.”