New Delhi: Legendary Indian cricket Sunil Gavaskar expressed his pleasure after seeing the batting partnership between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul on the second day of the Perth Test against Australia. Both batters stitched a 172-run stand and played out the complete day, facing 57 overs before stumps were called. Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 90 while Rahul was 62 not out.
Seeing the two batters toil Australia with their batting masterclass, Gavaskar, the former batter after whom the ongoing series (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) is named, couldn’t hold himself back from appreciating the two players. India were all out for just 150 in the first innings but the second innings has been steered extremely well so far. After the day’s conclusion, Gavaskar said that Rahul helped Jaiswal very well from the other end.
“You can say that because he’s (Jaiswal) seen the solidity of Rahul. Rahul hasn’t missed out on his scoring opportunities. When the ball’s been pitched up, he’s driven it gloriously through the covers. There is this straight drive that he played off Pat Cummins as well. Brilliant. It’s been a very, very good innings. It’s been what you would call a proper five-day Test match innings,” Gavaskar said.
Rahul eased pressure – Gavaskar
Jaiswal, who scored 90*, was well supported by Rahul from the other end, according to Gavaskar. He praised Rahul for easing pressure on Jaiswal with his solid batting. “When you have a partner at the other end who’s looking so secure, like Rahul is doing, then the other partner who’s got more strokes, who’s a little more adventurous in playing shots, and that’s what happened, so Jaiswal has actually flowered in his company,” Gavaskar perceived.
India ended Day 2 at 107/0 after 57 overs and took a lead of 218 runs to get in a commanding position. The pitch seems to have changed considerably as it was a paradise for the pacers on the first day when they picked up a total of 17 wickets. Australia were all out for a paltry 104 as India took a lead of 46 runs. The pitch is expected to deteriorate even more and it can be said that a huge target is on the cards for the hosts.
Sunil Gavaskar was full of praise for KL Rahul, who according to him, proved to be an excellent support to Yashasvi Jaiswal and displayed solid batting skills on the second day of Perth Test. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
