KL Rahul finds calling at number 6 as Indian star prepares for second wind in Tests
There seems to be something about the Boxing Day, Centurion and Day 1 Test that brings out the best in KL Rahul. Two years ago, in his familiar role as opener, the right-hander produced an elegant century, on the back of which India won the first of three Tests, only to concede the series 1-2.
On Tuesday, Rahul was given a new responsibility, one that sparked heated debate in Indian cricket circles. In his 48th Test, the 31-year-old was making his debut as the designated wicketkeeper-batsman, the third Indian player in the position since Rishabh Pant’s unfortunate road accident 12 months ago.
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In one of those bizarre coincidences that only cricket can regurgitate, Rahul began his Test career on the same day, December 26, nine years ago in Melbourne, when he reached number six in the first innings. He made just six, moved to third in the second innings and was dismissed for one, playing a tough pull against Mitchell Johnson.
In the next Test in Sydney, Rahul stepped up to open the batting, something he had done throughout his first-class career with Karnataka. His 110 sixes seemed to have made him the opener India had been looking for, and in the next 42 of the next 45 Tests he played as an opener, with mixed results.
A string of poor results and the emergence of several contenders, including Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, took him out of the Test mix, but he rated high enough for the decision makers to detect ways in which he could stay relevant. In the five-day match. To this end, this move requires him to wear big gloves and provide experience, quality and sophistication in the sixth position.
Rahul’s 50-over exploits as a wicketkeeper-batsman, and a middle-order batsman, clearly influenced this call, but with his excellent unbeaten 70 on a difficult surface at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday, he justified the move, keeping the innings A scrapped-together India for sure. And balance. The pacey South African side, captained by the impressive Kagiso Rabada, made the most of the unnatural seam movement and spongy bounce of the tennis ball, something most top players found difficult to negotiate, but Rahul was rarely troubled when he was behind the line of the ball. He defended when he had to and was fully committed when the attack started.
This knock will have major repercussions in the future, not just for Rahul but for India’s Test batting as such. The middle order slots will open up in the next couple of years and perhaps Rahul will finally find his calling there. That could be with or without the keeper’s gloves, especially when Pant returns or Ishan Kishan returns to action. Rahul needed that knock to convince himself that he had what it takes to hit an old ball with a good grip, and to convince those making the decisions that it was worth investing in him with more than one eye on the future.
The South African pacers exploited the bounce admirably, targeting the leg side as a real area to pick up wickets. They often had leg-slip, two-man deep field or square leg, as much due to leg-side strangulation – by which Gill perished – as it was due to drag, which was Rohit’s cause. Rahul was not bothered. His first scoring stroke was a screaming drag from head height and outside of that momentarily disorienting rabada, but Rahul did not play the drag randomly. Only when he was confident that he had reached the top of the bounce and could therefore keep the ball down did he make the shot, a high-risk shot given the steep bounce.
Even as wickets tumbled around him, Rahul kept his wits about him. He didn’t get too involved, nor did he adopt all-out brazen aggression. He allowed Shardul Thakur to play his strokes and was encouraged enough to give the No. 8 his share of the knock, but once Jasprit Bumrah and then Mohammed Siraj arrived, he grew the batting beautifully while also playing brilliant knocks, including a six over Marco Janssen’s cover that took one’s breath away. .
Rahul has struck the perfect balance between defense and attack, a model that batsmen from both teams should strive to emulate. He shared the first-day honors with five-wicket man Rabada, but inside the Indian dressing room, he stood the tallest. Making 208 for eight is no trivial matter, even if India have to bowl well to make them look strong. But the only reason India is there is because of their new No.6, KL Rahul, the wicket-keeper.
