'It was my toughest Test session'

Opener Rahul admits poor shot execution cost his wicket

Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood bowled brilliant spells of fast bowling to trouble the Indians on Sunday, forcing opener KL Rahul to acknowledge it was his toughest session in Test cricket.

Besides the two fast bowlers, their off-spinner Nathan Lyon, too had the Indians dancing to his tune, and Rahul, who scored 60, couldn’t help praising the Australian effort.

“It has been a fantastic cricket wicket. Something in it for everybody, Lyon and O’Keefe spun it and of course Josh and Cummins in the first session, I can say, is the toughest session I have faced in Test cricket so far. They put the ball in the right areas and they swung the ball, bowled with lot of pace and venom,” Rahul said.

He, however, felt India for their 248/6 had not done, too badly.  “The ball kept swinging the whole day. If you spend some time out there in the middle, it’s really good to bat. Yeah, all of us got starts but we couldn’t convert. I think we played really well. They did put a lot of pressure.”

Rahul, who has had five half-centuries in the series admitted to be a little disappointed at not converting them into 100s. “But It hasn’t been a worst series for me. I got starts, batted really well, enjoyed batting in the middle, Aussie bowlers haven’t made it easy. They have challenged us in all the games. Hopefully one good knock in the second innings might be the knock I have been waiting for the whole series.”

He rued his dismissal on the day. “It was horrible execution for sure. The intent, though, was right. I think the ball will do things off the crack. Even when we bowled the first day, a few balls did do something funny off the cracks. The conditions are really good for the fast bowlers like I was mentioning. The conditions aren't too hot. There is some swing out there and the fast bowlers out there are enjoying bowling on this wicket.”

Lyon happy
Lyon was thrilled with their performance. “As the day progressed, it (pitch) started to show a little bit more variations with bounce and spin, but I don't think it has changed too much.

“It was quite a positive final session. I reckon it is an unbelievable feeling to be pretty evenly poised after day two. I know we probably left a few runs out there, but to have India 6/240 odd after a pretty good day in the field, I am quite happy to be honest.

“I think Cummins really showed he is world-class, I think Josh Hazlewood has been the same. There hasn't been much life for the big quicks but the way Josh and Patty went about it has been exceptional.