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Ahead of the pink-ball, day-night Test against Australia at Adelaide Oval, Indian batter KL Rahul reflected on his international debut against the Aussies almost a decade ago, expressing hope that this series is start of something great in the second half of his career, which has witnessed him battle injuries, inconsistency, uncertainty over batting position etc over the years.
As KL gears up for the second Test, fans and the whole cricket fraternity as a whole would be rooting for the 32-year-old to have a bumper Border-Gavaskar Trophy and kickstart a great second half to his career, having made his debut on December 26, 2014, against Aussies. Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Rahul said that a lot has changed within this decade for him, from watching the India-Australia matches with his father early in the morning to actually playing in these matches. He said it felt surreal making his debut at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a phase of his life where he was not "as sure as he is today". "I mean, not about the batting, but just you as a person. Yeah, I mean, 10 years ago, like I said, it was my first test series and I watched the India-Australia series growing up on TV, waking up at 5 in the morning, watching the games with my father. So it was a bit surreal to be here at that moment. So, yeah, there was a lot more going on in my head at that time. And I honestly feel like I was not really as sure as I am today," he said. Rahul said that he has learnt a lot over these 10 years about batting, handling pressure, and keeping critics and outside noise away and feels grateful for his journey. "I am really grateful for everything that I've had to go through, the ups and downs, the good, the bad, everything. So I am looking forward to the next 10 years. Hopefully, this is a start for something great in the next half of my career. It (his career) feels like 25 (years), honestly. With the amount of injuries I have had, time away from the sport, yeah, it feels long, but I have enjoyed every bit of it," he signed off. Rahul, known for his technical proficiency and a wide array of strokes, has garnered wonder from Indian and worldwide cricketing audiences and experts in this decade, be it for his remarkable shots, his breath-taking centuries under pressure or the inconsistencies and loss of form he had to face despite his high talent and ceiling. In 54 Tests, KL has scored 3,084 runs, though at a rather disappointing average of 34.26 that does not do justice to his hype and talent. He has made eight centuries and 16 fifties, with the best score of 199. In Test cricket, KL is a part of an elite group of Indian batters to have cracked centuries in Australia, England and South Africa. Him scoring these centuries as an opener after seeing off the new, shiny and swinging ball have made these knocks even more special for fans. However, his issues with maintaining consistency and fitness, failures in key matches have subjected him to a lot of social media trolling and questioning by experts and fans alike. While Rahul has scored seven of his eight Test tons away from home, his average away from home (31.72) is way lower than his home average (39.62) due to his patchy form. Despite his centuries in Australia, England and SA, he averages an underwhelming 26.36 and 28.38 in Australia and South Africa respectively and 34.11 in England. Across all formats in 203 matches, he has scored 8,200 runs at an average of 39.42, with 17 centuries and 56 fifties. His best score is 199. ODIs have been his best format, having made 2,851 runs in 77 matches at an average of 49.15, with seven centuries and 18 fifties in 72 innings. In 72 T20Is, he has scored 2,265 runs at an average of 37.75, with a strike rate of 139.12, with two centuries and 22 fifties and best score of 110*. The Adelaide Test sees India entering with both a mental and physical edge, following a dominant performance in the first Test led by Jasprit Bumrah's bowling and captaincy. However, the visitors will also aim to exorcise the memories of the infamous 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, where they were dismissed for their lowest Test score of 36 runs. On that occasion, Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) dismantled the Indian batting line-up, giving Australia a straightforward target of 90 runs to chase. India are currently 1-0 up in the BGT series following their record-shattering 295-run victory in Perth. The second Test will be played in a day-night format in Adelaide, beginning from Friday.Australia squad (for second Test): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal. (ANI)
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