“If you approach it as a 25-over match, your intent will be different” - Anil Kumble’s advice for Kohli-Rahul ahead of reserve day

Former India captain Anil Kumble has advised Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to approach proceedings on the reserve day of the Asia Cup 2023 match against Pakistan with the mindset that they are playing a 25-over game.

Pakistan won the toss and asked India to bat first in Super 4 clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. The Men in Blue got off to a great start as their openers Rohit Sharma (56 off 49) and Shubman Gill (58 off 52) added 121 runs for the first wicket in 16.4 overs.

India were 147/2 in 24.1 overs when play halted proceedings on Sunday. The match will resume on Monday (reserve day) from where it stopped on Sunday.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Kumble opined that not out batters Rahul and Kohli must look at the game as a 25-over contest and not a 50-over one.

“Both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are experienced. They will resume from where they left off. If you approach it as a 25-over match, then your intent will be different. Rain can come anytime and it can become a 35 or 40 overs game," Kumble explained.

"You need to be aware that the game can stop anytime. You need to play with that intensity. You need to maximize the remaining overs. I am sure Virat, KL and Hardik [Pandya] will be the key for the remainder of the game,” he added.

When rain stopped play in the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match on Sunday, Kohli was batting on 8 off 16 balls and Rahul on 17 off 28 deliveries.

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“The intent was really good” - Kumble on Gill’s knock

While both Rohit and Gill scored impressive half-centuries, Kumble was particularly pleased with the attacking instincts showed by the younger of the two openers.

According to Kumble, Gill’s return to form augurs really well with the World Cup coming up.

“The intent was really good. Gill has scored back-to-back half-centuries, so that should give him a lot of confidence going into the rest of the Asia Cup and the World Cup,” the 52-year-old concluded.

Gill scored an unbeaten 67 off 62 balls in India’s 10-wicket win over Nepal. Overall, he has featured in 30 ODIs, scoring 1,572 runs at an average of 62.88, with four centuries and a best of 208.