KL Rahul: Understanding of my game has made me more consistent

Tags: India tour of New Zealand 2020, New Zealand Vs India,2nd T20I at Auckland, Jan 26, 2020, India, New Zealand, Kannaur Lokesh Rahul, T20I

Published on: Jan 26, 2020

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

India went 2-0 up in the five-match series with a clinical effort in the 2nd T20I at Auckland. Batting first, New Zealand only managed 132 for 5 on the board. In response

India went 2-0 up in the five-match series with a clinical effort in the 2nd T20I at Auckland. Batting first, New Zealand only managed 132 for 5 on the board. In response, India got home with seven wickets with two-and-a-half overs to spare.

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer once again starred with the bat as India successfully chased a target for the second game in a row. Rohit Sharma's poor form in New Zealand continued as he fell cheaply while skipper Virat Kohli also registered a rare failure. However, Rahul (57 from 50) and Iyer (44 from 33) added 86 for the third wicket to steer India towards victory. Shivam Dube finished off the match with a six.

Earlier, New Zealand struggled to get going batting first. Martin Guptill (33 from 20) and Colin Munro (26 off 25) failed to get the momentum going. They were 48 for 1 when Guptill fell at the end of the sixth over as the Powerplay ended.

Ravindra Jadeja was the standout bowler for India with 2 for 18 while Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah again kept things extremely tight in the death overs. Ross Taylor (18 off 24 balls) and Tim Seifert (33 off 26) couldn't provide New Zealand with the final flourish they were looking for, giving India the advantage at the halfway stage.

Speaking after winning the man of the match, Rahul said, "Obviously different circumstances (from last game), the target was different and the pitch was different from what we played on a couple of days before. I knew what I had to do, I couldn't play the same way. I had a different responsibility. We lost Rohit and Kohli early, so I had to stay in there."

On his exceptional run of form, Rahul added, "I don't really know what to say about that. The understanding of my game and reading my game has helped me to be more consistent. I always need to keep the team ahead and what the team requires. I have come up with the right shots and the right answers. That's been my mantra over the last few games and in the T20 format."

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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