KL Rahul hailed India’s Oval Test win and 2-2 series draw vs England as one of their top Test feats, praising the team’s fight despite doubts and key absences including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin.
Team India’s senior-most batter, KL Rahul, has rated the visitors’ Oval Test victory, which resulted in the five-match Test series draw against England, highly among many historic moments in Indian red-ball cricket history.
Team India concluded their 45-day England Test Tour with a thrilling six-run victory over the hosts to draw the five-match series on the final day of the Oval Decider. Before the fifth and final Test, the series was on the line with 2-1 in England’s favour, and Team India needed a victory at the Oval to avoid a series decider.
Eventually, the Shubman Gill-led Team India ended the tour on high with an Oval Test victory and a series draw. India lost the Headingley and Lord’s Tests, but clinched a historic win at Edgbaston. The visitors managed to salvage a draw in the Manchester Test to set up a series decider at the Oval, which was eventually clinched by Team India.
‘Will rank right at the top’
Speaking to Dinesh Karthik after India pulled off a historic Oval Test victory and a series draw, KL Rahul highlighted the relevance of Test Cricket and praised his team’s fightback despite doubts. He further ranked the hard-fought result among India’s recent historic Test achievements.
“We have seen India lift the World Cup, I mean, nothing compares to lifting the World Cup. But so many doubts, so many questions from everybody about whether Test cricket will stay or not. I think both the teams and the way we’ve played in this series, I think we’ve answered that question.” India’s senior-most batter said.
“For us as a team, that wasn’t given a chance in this series. And for us to fight back and to fight in every game and to get a result which is 2-2 might seem like a drop. But for us and for Indian Test cricket going in the future, I think this will rank right at the top,” he added.
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With a victory at the Oval, Team India not only drew the five-match series 2-2 but also ended their England tour on a high, denying the hosts’ home Test series win for the second time on the trot after the 2021-22 series between both sides.
KL Rahul on his role as a senior player without three stalwarts
Team India headed into the Test series against England without three stalwarts, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Kohli and Rohit stepped away from red-ball cricket before the India squad for the England tour was announced, while Ashwin called it quits from his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking on the absence of three stalwarts and his role as a senior player , Rahul said, “For the start of the series, we had Virat Kohli retiring, Rohit Sharma retiring, and we had Ashwin retiring. So three big names out of the roster in India’s team,”
“Yeah, I think it hit me when I joined the team. I was here about two weeks earlier playing India A’s, and it didn’t hit me back then. But once I joined the team, and I looked around and I didn’t have Rohit and Virat and Ashwin, who I played all my cricket with
“Just to look around and not see them felt a bit weird. But yeah, that’s when it hit me that everyone else is looking at me, coming to me to ask about English conditions, what they need to do, how they need to prepare,” he added.
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KL Rahul was one of the stand-out performers for Team India in the recently concluded Test series against England, amassing 532 runs, including two centuries and as many fifties, at an average of 53.20 in 10 innings.
Meanwhile, Team India managed to remain undefeated in the Test series against England since 2018, with India winning twice and drawing as many matches.