“Watched a lot of videos of how the conditions are here, we are slightly better prepared” – KL Rahul hopes to reverse 2017/18 disappointment

India opener KL Rahul revealed that he has watched a number of videos to structure his modus operandi to tackle South African conditions. India will begin their bid to win a first Test series in South Africa with the Boxing Day game at Centurion on Sunday.

From being a rookie opener the last time India toured South Africa in 2017/18 to coming back as the team's vice-captain, KL Rahul has come a long way. The 29-year-old admitted that he didn’t know how to thwart conditions in the Rainbow Nation then, but sounded confident of turning it around this time.

“In a foreign series, getting the team off to a good start is the most important thing as a batsman. Last time I came here was 3-4 years ago, and it was my first tour to South Africa, so I didn’t really know what to expect and how to handle these conditions. But this time around, having played two Test matches here before and having watched a lot of videos of how the conditions are here, we are slightly better prepared.

"And we’ve had a great preparation going into the Test match, so really excited about 26th and hopefully me and Mayank can get our team off to a good start and try and win the game for our team,” KL Rahul said in response to a Sportskeeda query during a pre-series press conference.

India lost the 2017/18 series 1-2, but what was alarming was the inability of the openers to lay a solid foundation. The tourists’ highest opening partnership was a mere 30, across all six innings.

Asked about the challenge African pitches pose as compared to other parts of the world, KL Rahul mentioned that it is the spongy bounce that creates maximum problems.

“I haven’t played a lot of games here in South Africa, but from my experience, I think sometimes the pitches can be a little bit challenging because of the tennis-ball bounce and we played in Autsralia where the pitches are fast and bouncy. But here, can be a bit spongy in the first couple of days and then it starts to quicken up.

“So when I played the last time, each time the wicket was a bit difficult and you had to understand and adjust according to that. So that becomes a huge challenge for both batters and bowlers. We are really looking forward to this series because South Africa is an exciting place to play cricket, comes with a lot of challenge, so we are all looking forward to the challenge,” Rahul explained.

KL Rahul amassed just 30 runs in the two Test matches he played on the 2017/18 tour.

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“Had some match simulations, where we practised with a lot of intensity” – KL Rahul

Virat Kohli seeking valuable inputs from head coach Rahul Dravid [Credits: BCCI]

After touching down in Johannesburg on December 16, Team India got down to training after a day of quarantine. KL Rahul admitted it was part of their plan to arrive early in order to have more time acclimatising to the conditions.

“The pace and bounce in the pitches here are very different to every other country. So that’s why I think it was important that we came here a bit earlier and try to get adjusted to the pitches. And we’ve had a great week of preparations, we’ve had a lot of sessions in the middle – had some match simulations, where we practised with a lot of intensity and we tried to get used to the conditions as best we can,” the interim Test vice-captain stated.

The Centurion encounter will be followed by Tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The teams will also play three ODIs starting January 19.