Rahul said, “Yes, I do (enjoy batting at the top) – I mean, I will not lie,” Rahul told Star sports After taking India home in the semi -finals. “This is after opening the batting in Test matches (in the final series) in Australia and after facing the attack in Australia. And you know, the red-ball (cricket) is very difficult. I opened the batting there and then seem less different to come here and then the bat seems less different, but this is that I have played white-ball cricket in the last four-five years.
“I am quite using to go up and down above the order, so I am just getting a chance to play in the middle and whatever role I have been given, I think it is really helping me understand my game a lot and I have to work on too much limit-touching in either either last year, because we had played in Sri Lanka, so I knew that I knew that I would take him.
Prior to the Champions Trophy, there was a toss-up between Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the location of the keeper-better, but Rahul, the overlash, eventually got the node. On Tuesday, Rahul went out to bat in the fall of the wicket of Aar, in which India needed 86 in 15 overs with six wickets on the surface of Dubai. When Virat Kohli was out for 84, it appeared that there was a inauguration in Australia, but Rahul slammed the doors at him with an unbeaten 42 balls in 34 balls, including two fours and two sixes. After putting India in the final, Rahul was asked how he dealt with uncertainty about his role.
Rahul said, “Ever since I think I have batted at number 5 and many times people forget that I am batting,” Rahul said. “And every time I perform in a series and then the ODI series, a break from the ODI cricket, and then we come back after four or five months, ‘Oh well, what will he play in the shee, where he is fit’ and sometimes I am sitting to think what I can do.
“And whatever he has told me, I feel that I have done this according to my ability. And I know that Rohit also feels the same and he has always supported me and supported me. So it is confident that the game is going to the game.”
Although Dubai rolled out a fresh pitch for the semi-finals, it was still slow and favorable to spin. This was one of the pitches where the strike was difficult to rotate, so Rahul felt that it was worth taking risks everywhere, especially when Kohli was under the highest control at the other end. Rahul took sixes in quick succession for a brace of Tanveer Sangh, Ben Dwarshuis and Adam Zampa for a brace of fours and Kohli was caught in long-on. Hardik Pandya did his job, but later he got out, and Rahul got work with Ravindra Jadeja.
Rahul said about his conversation with Kohli, “When I went in and when I played ten -12 balls, I told him that you are a batsman, who needs to move forward and stay there, and try to try and hit me and let me take a chance,” Rahul said about his conversation with Kohli. “Because we needed only 6 runs. But 6 runs looked like that wicket at 8-8.5 on an over. So, you had to take one chance of one over, a border or a six.
“So, I told him that I will do this and why you will not just rotate the strike and stay there because you are set batter and it can be difficult (for me). If you get out another batsman, it becomes very difficult. But yes, he felt that it was in his limits to hit and yes, he did not give time.”
