‘We knew a big shower was coming’: KL Rahul on India’s Galle win

Galle: India vice-captain KL Rahul said the visitors were determined to push for a result against Sri Lanka because they knew a big shower was coming, with the rain arriving just five minutes after their 165-run victory in Galle.

Rahul, who scored 82 in India's first innings, said the team did not want to waste time by delaying the game.

Speaking to broadcaster SonyLiv, Rahul said the weather played a part in India's approach on the final day.


"We knew one big shower was going to come and we didn't want to delay the game," Rahul said. "Just relieved honestly."

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Sri Lanka had threatened to extend the contest with a big partnership, but India were confident that one breakthrough would open the door to more wickets.

"They had one big partnership but we knew if we could break that, we could get into their tail," he said. "It was a great Test match."

Rahul felt the Galle pitch remained good throughout the five days, offering something to both spinners and batters who were prepared to apply themselves.

"The wicket played really well all five days. There was something in it for the spinners, obviously," he said.

"But batters who applied themselves did well," Rahul added, highlighting Sonal's commitment to his sweep shot.

The vice-captain also praised the fast bowlers and said India had kept the new ball in mind as another opportunity to take wickets.

"Fast bowlers took wickets too," he said. "We knew the new ball was going to come and if we couldn't get wickets, we knew the new ball was our chance."

India's focus was to maintain discipline rather than panic when Sri Lanka's batters scored runs.

"Through the day, we wanted to put the ball in the right areas," Rahul said. "We know the opposition had good batters and they're also allowed to score runs."

The India vice-captain said the breakthrough was always likely to bring further wickets.

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"We knew once we broke a partnership, we'd get two or three quickly," he said.

Rahul felt batters who went to the crease without a clear plan struggled to deal with the conditions.

"Someone who walked in there, thinking I'll see what to do based on how the pitch behaves, those were the batters who struggled," he said.

"If you went out there with a plan, you could do well," Rahul added.