Missing out on double ton hurts: KL Rahul

Team India gave a fitting reply to England’s 477 in the final Test at Chennai. India finished day 3 at 391/4, trailing by just 86 runs. The hero of the day was Indian opener KL Rahul who fell short of a well-deserved double ton by just one run. Rahul looked good for his 199 and holed it in the hands of Jos Buttler of the bowling of Adil Rashid when it mattered the most.

Talking to the media after his herculean effort on the field, the star Indian opener admitted that missing out on the double ton does not make him feel good. He said that everything seemed to be falling at the right place for him on the day. He reflected back that he was middling the balls well and the timing was going great guns too.

“It was a good day till I got out. Throughout the day I was hitting the ball in the middle and the chances that I took came off. Everything was looking good but it was just unfortunate that the pressure of getting a double hundred got to me,” quoted KL Rahul after the day’s play.

He further added that at the end of the day, he is quite pleased with his efforts. The Karnataka batsman mentioned that the fact of losing out to a double century is hurtful. A very humble Rahul also admitted that it was the pressure of getting the double century that got the better of him at the end.

“I am very happy at the end of the day. 199 runs aren’t easy to get but missing out on a double hundred obviously hurts. I’ll go back home happy that I got 199 crucial runs for my team,” conceded the Indian batsman.

Speaking about Virat Kohli celebrating Rahul’s century, the opening batsman said, “Everbody enjoys each other’s success. We are always pushing each other to get better on the field and off the field, helping each other out in the nets or in the gym. That’s the most important thing. That’s why I think we are the No. 1 team in the world.

“Virat obviously being the leader sets a great example. You will obviously see if somebody is getting a hundred, somebody is taking a great catch or somebody is getting a wicket, he feels more excited than other player who has actually got a hundred or a wicket. That is how the atmosphere in the dressing room is right now. We’re enjoying the success as a team and individual success as well.”

Rahul also said that he was shut off in the dressing room after getting dismissed on 199, “I was just shut off. I couldn’t hear what was being said. There were a lot of boys who came up to me and said something but I was just disappointed. It is hard, it’s never easy to on 199. I got my first international duck in Vizag and now getting out on 199. So I am going through a lot of emotions in this Test series. Like I said, I have to be just happy with the way I batted,” concluded KL Rahul.

KL Rahul scored 199 off 311 balls with 16 fours and 3 sixes. He was well supported by Parthiv Patel (71) and Karun Nair (71*) during his marathon knock.