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Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that the middle-order batter KL Rahul looks like a better version of himself, having worked a lot on his technique, soaking the pressure and getting beaten by the ball less often.
KL's Rahul's calm 97 nit out and his 165-run stand with Virat Kohli (85) helped India clinch a six-wicket win over Australia in their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign opener on Sunday. Following the win, speaking to Star Sports, Irfan Pathan talked about KL's transformation since his return from injury during Asia Cup. "He has been looking very calm. He does not seem like the Rahul who used to take pressure as before, now he looks like he is soaking that pressure, and it can be seen in the result. And because of that, he does not even seem like he is going to get out while he is batting," said Pathan. "He is getting beaten less, that does not mean one does not get beaten. There seems to be control, he is finding the singles, playing the big shots, he is also using the sweep shots, seems to be having a lot of time while pulling the ball. He has worked a lot on his technique, but most importantly he looks like a much better version of himself than before," he added. Talking about Virat's knock, Irfan called it one of his best knocks because of all the pressure and how Virat played according to the situation so well. Pathan said, "It has happened many times that Virat Kohli has played such knocks, where wickets have fallen, and wickets are continuously happening to fall at the other end. He was still able to put pressure back on to the bowlers, and that is why he is regarded as one of the all-time modern masters of the game." "But playing according to the pitch, according to the expectations set for the first game of the World Cup, and the way pressure had also been built up around the match, is why I would consider this to be truly one of his best knocks," he said. Talking about India's first match of the tournament, Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss. Mitchell Marsh and David Warner opened for the Aussies in the first inning, however, Marsh went for a duck, but Warner (41 runs from 52 balls) and Steven Smith (46 runs from 71 balls) helped Australia to make a crucial 69-run second-wicket partnership. Soon after Smith's wicket, the Aussies failed to get a hold of the match after the Indian bowling attack showcased a stellar performance. India's three-spin bowling attack of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravichandran Ashwin put up a magnificent inning and dismissed the Aussies for 199. Jadeja picked up three wickets. Kuldeep and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, and Ashwin scalped one wicket each in the fifth ODI World Cup match. In the second inning, Australia started off well after they dismissed Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer for a duck leaving India at 2/3. However, Virat Kohli (85 runs from 116 balls) and KL Rahul (97* runs from 115 balls) made a solid 165-run partnership to clinch a six-wicket win against Australia. In their upcoming fixture, India will square off against Afghanistan on October 11 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. (ANI)
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