“Body Language Not Like Virat Kohli…”: Sunil Gavaskar On India Batter’s Lean Patch

Team India kick-started the three-match ODI series with a brilliant five-wicket win in the first match on Friday. Opted to bowl first, the hosts restricted Australia at 188 after Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami scalped three wickets each. Later, Team India suffered an early loss of wickets as they were five down with only 83 runs on the board. It was then KL Rahul, who stood up and played an unbeaten knock of 75 runs off 91 balls and took the Hardik Pandya-led side across the line, in just 39.5 overs. Rahul’s magnificent knock left everyone utterly impressed as the batter was earlier going through a lean patch and had lost his place in the team, after back-to-back failures.

After Team India’s triumph in the first ODI, former India batter Sunil Gavaskar praised Rahul and drew a brilliant comparison between him and star batter Virat Kohli. Gavaskar stated that the only difference between both the players is their body language.

“We said earlier as well that he has the technique and temperament but sometimes you need luck as well. Just like Virat Kohli, he was getting out to his first mistake, but his body language didn’t use to be like Virat Kohli’s. Virat Kohli used to get out but still his body language was different, he was confident. You could not have said the same thing about Rahul. But the way he batted today, he repaid the team management for the faith shown in him. He stayed till the end, it was not that he could do anything as he had scored a fifty,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.

Getting back to the match, India were in trouble at 39-4 while chasing a target of 189.

However, Rahul stayed calm and put on key partnerships including an unbeaten 108-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 45, to achieve victory in 39.5 overs.

The second ODI is on Sunday in Visakhapatnam.