Was frustrated for driving a half-volley straight to the cover fielder: KL Rahul
India opener KL Rahul opened up on his dismissal on day two of the second Test against England at Lord's. KL Rahul was the first Indian batsman to perish on Friday as Ollie Robinson grabbed his second wicket of the innings to give England some respite. He revealed he was livid for hitting a boundary ball straight to the fielder.
The dismissal occurred in the second ball of the day, one delivery after he took a couple to move to 129. But Rahul could not tee off in the morning session as he expected to, holing out a half-volley to Dom Sibley at cover. But the right-handed batsman top-scored as the visitors finished with a stiff total of 364. England still trail by 245 runs.
Speaking at a press conference, KL Rahul revealed he felt frustrated as they expected to add 70-80 runs in the crucial morning session for a big total. The 28-year old highlighted feeling fresh in the morning and eager to further build his score to an imposing one. So Rahul was disappointed to drive a half-volley straight to cover.
"I was frustrated when I got out. Obviously, the morning was very crucial for us, having batted well last night. The objective was to go out there and accumulate 70-80 runs in the morning session, which would set us up really nicely. So, that's what I was looking to do. I looked after myself really well last night and I was feeling good, I was feeling fresh this morning. I wanted to go out there and being sent back within a few overs was not what I expected. So, really frustrated for driving a half-volley straight to the covers,"
We have to get a couple of wickets in the first hour tomorrow: KL Rahul
When asked what he thought about the current state of the game, KL Rahul responded as below:
"Since it's too early to predict, we'll take it as it comes. Obviously, we want to go out there tomorrow and get a couple of wickets in the first hour and put pressure on the English batsmen. Since there's not a lot happening with the pitch, we have to be disciplined with our line and lengths, keep working on our plans, we are going to see our plans for every batsman, stick to those, wait for the batsmen to do mistakes. Once we get a couple of wickets, we'll try to really put pressure on them and see where we go from there,"
After the English openers survived 14 overs before tea, Mohammed Siraj dismissed Dom Sibley and Haseeb Hameed in consecutive deliveries. A stand of 85 between Joe Root and Rory Burns put the hosts' innings back on track. Burns walked back for 49; however, Root and Jonny Bairstow remained unbeaten at close.