India vs Zimbabwe: ‘Good for some of the guys to get time in the middle’ says KL Rahul after second ODI

Indian captain KL Rahul said that the revised batting order didn’t work but it was good for several guys to get a chance to bat out in the middle.

India chased the target of 162, losing five wickets in the process, unlike the first ODI wherein they won unscathed.

“We bat deep and it's good for some of the guys to get time in the middle. We weren't nervous [after losing some early wickets],” Rahul said at the post-match presentation about the team’s batting effort.

Stand-in captain Rahul, who is making a comeback to the side after quite a while didn’t trouble the scorers as he got out LBW for one run of Victor Nyauchi’s bowling. The first match star batters Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill as well got off to a good start but both were dismissed for 33.

That's that from the 2nd ODI.#TeamIndia win by 5 wickets and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Scorecard - https://t.co/RDdvga1BXI #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/AeG4OsDPQO

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 20, 2022

“It didn't work [laughs, on the changed batting order], I wanted to get some runs but it didn't happen. Hopefully in the next game. They have some quality bowlers in the attack and they bowled well to Bangladesh, I watched it on the television. The bowlers did come hard, they're tall and big and strong boys,” Rahul added.

This gave a chance to the middle order to spend some time on the crease and take the team past the victory line.

“Good challenge for us as batters, but we bat deep so it wasn't a worry. We're here to play good cricket and win,” Rahul said about the middle order finishing the match for India.

Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda finished the match for India. Samson was also awarded the man of the match for his 43 off 39 deliveries and taking three catches behind the wickets, one of which was a one-handed blinder.

Samson was happier with his wicket-keeping than his batting and expressed so at the post-match presentation.

“How much ever time you spend in the middle feels good. I really enjoyed keeping and contributing to the win. In this match, the fast bowlers picked the length much quicker and I really enjoyed keeping.”

However, Samson while being excellent behind the stumps, also missed out on a stumping opportunity of Axar Patel’s bowling towards the fag end of Zimbabwe's batting.

Sanju Samson is adjudged Player of the Match for his match winning knock of 43* as India win by 5 wickets.

Scorecard - https://t.co/6G5iy3rRFu #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/Bv8znhTJSM

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 20, 2022

Samson said the wicket keepers are generally habituated to listening about their failures. “I took three catches but I missed a stumping too; as keepers, we're used to listening to things we didn't do well.”

Earlier, Rahul didn’t miss out on being thankful to the fans for coming out in large numbers to support Men in Blue. “It's a great turnout today, it's a weekend, and wherever we go across the world we get good support from Indian fans, so thanks to them.”

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