Top bat KL Rahul isn’t looking down under for T20 World Cup

Hyderabad: Having got India off to a flyer with a fine knock in the T20 series opener against the West Indies, K.L. Rahul has surely got off the blocks well in terms of a place in the team for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia but the opener is keeping his feet on the ground, and taking one match at a time.

“It’s (T20 World Cup) a long way honestly. I have got the opportunity to bat top of the order again after a couple of series, so looking forward to just making the best use of it,” a modest Rahul said.

“Today was a good outing, good hit in the middle and hopefully I can continue the same thing without worrying about October next year. There are a lot of games before that,” added Rahul, who hit 62 in 40 balls.

Speaking about the stand with the skipper Rahul said: “Our plans were very clear, you have to hit boundaries while chasing 200 runs. In the middle 2-3 overs we obviously got it harder to get the boundaries but we knew that once we get a few boundaries it will start, so we just had to stay patient. We just kept the intent going. It obviously was a bit tricky but the best chance for a batsman to score runs was once you are set. Fortunately Virat carried on and finished the game for us,” he added.

The 27-year-old said batting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium wasn’t easy. “Both teams scored 200 plus and we chased it in 19 overs but it wasn’t the easiest wicket to bat on,” he said.

The home side did floor a few catches, Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar being the guilty ones, but Rahul batted for them and pointed to the conditions. “I think the lights are pretty low and sometimes you lose the ball in that light and that’s what happened a couple of times. We have played here for years so we knew what to expect. As a team we don’t complain about things like these, it’s not in our control,” he said.

Commenting on the ICC rule of having the third umpire judge front foot no balls, the swashbuckling opener said: “It was our first game, so it was interesting. None of us knew what to expect but fortunately for us we were on the good side. We got 2-3 decisions in our favour. I think it’s good to keep the game fair.”