Vice-Captain KL Rahul speaks: India need to see off new ball but keep mum on Rahane, Pujara

They
will
once
again
be
up
against
a
quality
Proteas
pace
attack
on
a
fast
and
bouncy
track.

India’s
vice-captain
realizes
the
importance
of
this
series
and
knows
that
it
is
a
great
opportunity
for
his
side.

“It’s
a
huge
series
for
us
as
a
team.
We
always
take
away
series
as
a
challenge.
We
have
worked
really
hard
on
this.
Winning
in
Australia
and
in
England
have
given
us
good
confidence.

“The
first
match
of
the
series
is
the
most
important
and
our
focus
has
been
on
winning
the
match
and
give
our
best,”
said
KL
Rahul
in
a
virtual
press
conference.

India
has
quite
a
poor
record
in
South
Africa
as
they
have
won
only
three
Test
matches
in
the
‘Rainbow
Nation’ one
each
under
Rahul
Dravid,
Mahendra
Singh
Dhoni
and
Virat
Kohli.

“I
never
think
about
that.
The
only
thing
I
can
do
is
to
prepare
better
and
it
is
the
case
for
everyone
in
the
team.
We
have
had
good
preparation.

“We
have
prepared
the
same
way
as
we
did
in
England.
As
I
said,
new
ball
is
very
important
and
we
have
prepared
accordingly,” explained
vice-captain
Rahul.

Indian
think-tank
comprising
skipper
Virat
Kohli
and
head
coach
Rahul
Dravid
will
have
to
take
a
call
on
who
their
No.
5
is
going
to
be
with
Ajinkya
Rahane
out
of
form,
with
Shreyas
Iyer
scoring
a
century
on
his
debut
and
Hanuma
Vihari
performing
well
in
India
A’s
tour
to
South
Africa
recently.

“It
is
a
very
difficult
decision
to
make,
obviously.
Ajinkya
has
been
a
very
important
part
of
our
Test
team
and
he
has
played
very
crucial
knocks
in
his
career.

“In
the
last
15-18
months,
if
I
can
think
back,
his
knock
in
Melbourne
was
really
crucial
and
helped
us
win
a
Test
match.

“That
partnership
with
Pujara
at
Lord’s
in
the
second
innings,
where
he
got
a
fifty,
was
really
important.
That
ended
up
in
us
winning
the
Test
match.
So
he
has
been
a
key
player
of
us
in
that
middle-order,”
said
KL
Rahul.

Shreyas
Iyer
on
form
certainly
looks
like
a
strong
contender
as
he
made
a
great
start
to
his
Test
career
scoring
a
century
in
the
first
innings
of
his
Test
debut
followed
by
a
half-century
in
the
second
innings
of
the
same
Test
match.

Vihari
has
not
only
performed
in
India
A’s
tour
but
also
played
gritty
knocks
in
Australia
to
show
his
character.

“Shreyas,
obviously,
has
taken
his
chances.
He
played
a
brilliant
knock
in
Kanpur,
got
a
hundred.
So
he
is
very
excited
and
Hanuma
(Vihari)
has
also
done
well
for
us.

“It’s
a
tough
decision
but
we’ll
start
having
the
chat
probably
today
or
tomorrow.
You’ll
get
to
know
in
a
couple
of
days’ time.”
said
Rahul.

Rahul
is
now
the
vice-captain
of
the
side
and
the
expectations
from
him
are
going
to
be
even
more
now
as
he
is
also
expected
to
be
involved
with
the
captain
in
terms
of
field
placement
and
strategy.

“I
don’t
think
there
has
been
any.
There
will
be
responsibility
due
to
the
vice-captaincy.
One
will
play
with
more
responsibility.
Otherwise,
I
don’t
think
it
will
make
any
difference,” explained
Rahul.

Rahul
failed
miserably
in
his
last
tour
to
South
Africa
scoring
only
30
runs
in
four
innings.

This
time
around
he
is
expected
to
work
on
his
previous
mistakes
and
failures
in
order
to
give
India
a
solid
start.

“I
haven’t
played
a
lot
of
games
in
SA
but
my
experience
is
that
the
pitches
could
be
challenging.
Here,
the
pitch
could
be
spongy.
That
is
the
main
difference
compared
to
the
fast
and
bouncy
pitches
of
Australia.

“I
tried
to
play
close
to
my
body.
That
has
been
the
preparation.
My
focus
has
been
really
to
play
tight
and
not
give
away
wickets
in
the
first
30-35
overs
of
the
new
ball,” said
Rahul
on
challenges
he
will
face
in
South
African
conditions.

The
onus
to
win
Test
matches
outside
the
sub-continent
will
be
once
again
on
Indian
pacers
who
managed
to
take
20
wickets
in
each
Test
played
in
India’s
tour
to
South
Africa
in
2017/18
and
were
also
brilliant
in
India’s
back-to-back
Test
series
win
in
Australia.

“Every
team
wants
to
pick
up
20
wickets.
That’s
the
only
way
you
can
win
a
Test
match.
We
have
definitely
used
that
tactic
and
it
has
helped
us
in
every
Test
match
that
we
have
played
away
from
India.

“The
workload
also
becomes
slightly
easier
to
manage
with
five
bowlers.
When
you
have
that
kind
of
quality,
you
might
as
well
use
it,” said
Rahul.

The
Indian
Test
team
is
on
a
rampage
winning
consecutive
Test
series
in
Australia
and
taking
an
unassailable
2-1
lead
in
England.
Virat
Kohli
and
the
company
have
an
opportunity
to
help
India
win
its
first
Test
match
in
the
‘Rainbow
Nation’.