Australia vs India, 1st Test: 3 Takeaways from Day 3

#2. Maybe, attack could be the best form of defence for KL Rahul

Rahul's aggressive approach served him better

In the first innings, Rahul added another failure to a long list of shortcomings overseas. With the pressure mounting, Rahul came up with a vital knock of 44 in the second innings. While the innings would surely not go down as one of the best he’s played, it brought to light a mechanism that could just serve him well.

In England, Rahul faced numerous problems against the seaming ball. The first couple of Tests saw him being circumspect around the off-stump, thus resulting in him poking at balls he should have probably left alone.

The next three Tests saw the English bowlers mercilessly exploit his weakness against the incoming delivery. With Rahul facing problems against the extravagant swing and seam on offer, he adopted a risky yet effective approach at the Oval.

In the 4th innings of the Test, Rahul attacked from the outset and put the bowlers under pressure. Lofted drives were accompanied by strong flicks. Additionally, he played the sweep to perfection to negate the spinners’ threat.

After a swashbuckling start to his innings, Rahul settled down and compiled a sensational hundred.

At Adelaide too, he started off a little tentatively but the big shots weren’t far away. He took a toll on Cummins by depositing him over covers for six and was severe during that phase on Hazlewood as well.

More than the 44 runs he scored, the manner in which he got them would give the lad from Karnataka confidence. Lately, Rahul has found himself under scrutiny with his failure to score consistently posing question marks over his place.

However, the ‘attack is the best form of defence’ approach could just be the answer to his conundrum. Recently, Rahul has shown the ability to pull it off and with the talent he possesses, you wouldn’t want to bet against him doing it on a regular basis.

Hence, maybe, just maybe, the flamboyant approach could offer some respite for under-fire Rahul.