"It was really good to see him perform under pressure" - Mohammad Shami praises KL Rahul for match-winning knock

Team India pacer Mohammad Shami admitted that there was pressure on KL Rahul when he went into bat in the chase against Australia in the first ODI on Friday (March 17) at the Wankhede in Mumbai. The fast bowler praised Rahul for absorbing the pressure and playing a match-winning knock.

Rahul top-scored with 75* off 91 as Team India chased down a target of 189 with five wickets and 10.1 overs to spare. The hosts were in a spot of bother at 83-5 in the 20th over. However, keeper-batter Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (45* off 69 balls) added an unbroken 108 for the sixth wicket to take the hosts home.

Rahul was under immense scrutiny going into the first ODI against Australia. He was dropped from the playing XI for the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a string of low scores in red-ball cricket.

Appreciating Rahul’s knock, Shami said in a post-match conference:

“There is a lot of talk about being in form, being out of form or being under pressure. But from a player’s (batter’s) point of view, it’s all about playing a good knock for the team and giving a good start to the side."

Shami continued:

“We have all seen that he has played some very good inning. Sometimes your luck doesn’t work. You try things, but it just doesn’t happen. You start finding your rhythm after many days, and the shots also start coming out nicely. This phase comes in a player’s life. There was definitely pressure today because so many wickets fell early. So, it was really good to see him perform under pressure.”

Rahul struck seven fours and a six in his unbeaten knock as India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

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“They were playing on the back foot” - Mohammad Shami on his impressive burst with the ball

While Rahul shone with the willow in the chase, Shami starred with the ball, claiming 3-17 in six overs with two of them being maidens. He dismissed Josh Inglis, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis in quick succession in his second spell.

Discussing about his impressive bowling performance, the 32-year-old said:

“In the second spell, the ball was coming out well from the first delivery itself. They (Australian batters) were playing on the back foot, so my mindset was to bowl it further up and look for the edge. I had a slip in the second spell as well. The effort was to bowl in good areas and maintain good lengths.”

During the interaction, Shami was also asked about how the bowlers are planning to manage their workload, keeping the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup in mind. Responding that it’s too early to think about the big tournaments, Shami added:

“There is still time for the World Test Championship and the World Cup. You can’t think so far ahead as a player. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. As for the World Cup, you need to be smart and work on your strengths. You need to work on your body. You need to take it match to match or, at maximum, tournament to tournament.”

Apart from Shami, his pace-bowling partner Mohammed Siraj also impressed, registering figures of 3-29 in 5.4 overs.