Tightening up defence and giving bowlers respect in the first 30 overs of an innings has been the key to KL Rahul's success during the ongoing series against Australia in which his other India teammates have struggled.
Rahul has by far looked the most assured Indian batter on the tour and it was on display once again on Tuesday when he produced a gritty 84 off 139 balls in challenging conditions, contributing immensely to the visitors' 252 for nine on day four of the third Test in Brisbane.
After India managed to avoid follow-on in the rain-hit game, Rahul was asked about his style of play.
KL Rahul 84(139) vs Australia 3rd Test 2024 Ball by Ball Fox 1080p50fps pic.twitter.com/Ze1kPxJZqc
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"See I'm quite certain that everybody has their own set plans. You also need to have a bit of luck as a top-order batter.
"Just a little bit that goes your way if you can get through those first 10-15 overs and get a bit of confidence then you start feeling good and you start enjoying playing with the Kookaburra ball with the pace and bounce here in Australia," said Rahul who has reaped the benefits of playing close to his body.
The classy right-hander said it is all about sticking to the basics in overseas conditions and that includes giving due respect to the bowlers when the ball is hard and new.
"It's just about getting through those first 20-30 balls for everybody and everyone's trying their best to do that and it's a long series.
"The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is to tighten up your defence, try and respect that the first 30 overs is the bowler's time and give them their time, leave balls, try and play as tight as possible and then really try to cash in once the ball gets older. So that's my plan, and that's pretty simple, and I'm sure that's the plan for everybody."
Besides not playing away from his body, Rahul has also made a conscious effort to leave balls while the other batters have been guilty of playing deliveries on the off-stump channel with hard hands.
"Yeah, very important. I mean, not just for me, for any openers on both sides," said Rahul when asked about the importance of leaving balls.
"We've seen even in Adelaide when in the night when McSweeney and Labuschagne played really well in those 10-15 overs they just kept leaving balls of a good length...
"... That's a good thing about playing here in Australia, if you get used to the pace and bounce, you can trust the bounce and you can leave balls on bounce and that's something that they showed us in the last game."
When on tours, Rahul reckons one has to earn the right to score runs.
"When you travel overseas and when you're playing quality fast bowlers, you have to respect the first 20-30 overs. You have to respect if the ball's moving, you have to give it to the fast bowlers and just soak in that pressure and wait for your time to score runs.
"You have to earn the right to score runs in overseas conditions. And that's something that we've spoken about a lot," said Rahul, adding that he had a hard time picking the pink ball in the previous game.
Has his plans changed from venue to venue?
"I mean not so far at least because I feel like Perth and Brisbane were quite similar in terms of how much pace and bounce the wickets had.
"But now, once I've come here again, gone back to basics and try and play close to the body, leave balls, the basics, I can't make up anything new and tell you," said the opener.
