"You go after one of our guys, all 11 of us will come right back" - KL Rahul sends subtle warning to England
Celebrating India's historic win at Lord's, opening batsman KL Rahul has dropped a subtle warning to his opponents. Commenting on the on-field squabbles between the players from both teams, he said if the hosts were to "go after" one of the Indians, all eleven would "come right back" at them.
KL Rahul's comments come in light of the highly-tensed past few days in London which began to heat up with Jasprit Bumrah's fiery spell to James Anderson on Day 3 and culminated with Virat Kohli and Co. overwhelming their opponents with their words and skills to take home a 151-run win on Monday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, KL Rahul acknowledged that the tensions were part and parcel of the game but drew the line on "a little bit of banter."
"That's what you expect with two competitive teams, you know, you are always going to see great skills, a lot of heart and a few words as well. That only shows how much both team wants to win. We don't mind a little bit of banter. And, you go after one of our guys, all 11 of us will come right back at them," the opening batsman said.
Anderson had exchanged a few words with the Indians after Bumrah peppered him with a few bouncers on Day 3. The whole England team then apparently tried to back him by going after Bumrah and Mohammed Shami during India's second innings.
That move backfired big time as both pacers first put up an unbeaten 89-run stand and then shared four wickets between them. KL Rahul added that the on-field altercations had given the pacers even more impetus to knock their opponents off.
"That just got us going and the bowlers were really pumped and wanted to go out there and have a real crack at them. Really happy with the performance they have put in this game," added KL Rahul.
"It's still a temporary piece of paper" - KL Rahul on his honors board mention
KL Rahul, who was awarded the Player of the Match award for his brilliant first-innings century, also joked that he's constantly checking the honors board for his name but it still hasn't been made permanent.
"I've been looking at it every morning to see if they've put it down permanently. They haven't - it's still a temporary piece of paper. But yeah, really proud moment, and I'm really happy that this hundred could result in a victory for India. It was (how important was the first innings score) put in to bat, we had to go out there, give the team a good start and make sure we put a decent total on the board. The partnership between me and Rohit was really really crucial and so was putting on 360 on the board, yeah, very happy," the opening batsman said.
India have taken a crucial 1-0 lead in the five-Test series and will now play the third Test at Leeds, starting on August 25.