India vs England 2nd Test: Rahane, Pujara know how to get back among runs: KL Rahul

The
experienced
duo
of
Pujara
and
Test
vice-captain
Rahane
have
not
been
at
their
best
of
late,
averaging
in
the
20s
this
year.
While
Pujara
made
4,
12
not
out
and
9
in
the
three
innings
in
England
so
far,
Rahane
managed
just
5
and
1
in
the
two
innings
he
got
to
play.

“Pujara
and
Ajinkya
have
done
the
job
for
India
many
times
we
were
in
trouble.
They
are
world-class
and
experienced
players
so
they
know
how
to
come
out
of
a
couple
of
innings
they
haven’t
scored
runs,”
Rahul
said
at
the
press
conference
after
the
second
day’s
play
in
the
second
Test
against
England.

“You
have
also
to
realise
they
are
playing
in
tough
conditions.
In
English
conditions
batting
is
always
going
to
be
challenging,
you
are
going
to
get
good
balls.
You
can’t
go
out
there
and
score
runs
in
every
innings,
but
if
you
get
a
start
you
make
it
count.”
Rahul
(129)
scored
his
fifth
Test
century
at
the
hallowed
Lord’s
on
Thursday.

But
he
admitted
he
was
frustrated
at
missing
out
on
a
bigger
hundred
and
taking
the
visitors
to
a
bigger
total.
He
could
add
only
two
runs
to
his
Thursday’s
score
before
walking
back
to
the
dressing
room
amid
a
big
applause.

Having
played
a
fine
knock,
Rahul’s
was
a
soft
dismissal
as
he
drove
straight
to
the
cover
fielder
in
only
the
day’s
second
delivery,
bowled
by
Ollie
Robinson.

“I
get
frustrated
when
I
am
set
and
then
get
out.
Obviously
this
(Friday)
morning
was
really
crucial
for
us
having
put
270
on
board
last
night
to
go
out
there
and
get
70-80
runs
in
the
first
session
which
would
have
set
things
up
really
nicely.
So
that’s
what
I
was
looking
to
do,”
Rahul
said.

“I
was
feeling
good
and
fresh,
so
wanted
to
go
out
there
and
being
set
batting
at
127,
I
could
have
played
with
a
lot
of
freedom.
Really
frustrated
that
I
missed
out
on
a
juicy
half
volley.
Just
drove
a
half
volley
straight
into
covers
hands.
I
was
looking
to
build
on
my
innings
and
get
a
bigger
score.”

Back
into
the
Test
fold
during
the
ongoing
tour,
Rahul
has
grabbed
his
opportunities
with
both
hands.
Having
already
established
himself
in
the
limited-over
formats,
he
said
the
key
to
success
in
five-day
game
is
discipline
and
patience.

“Challenges
are
there
in
every
format
and
we
as
players
know
what
are
the
challenges
and
what
we
need
to
do
to
deal
with
them.
But
sometimes
you
perform,
sometimes
not
because
when
you
go
in
the
middle
the
pressure
is
slightly
different.
The
situation
of
the
game
is
slightly
different,”
he
said.

“Yes,
one-day
cricket
is
different
because
after
2
or
3
overs
the
ball
stops
swinging,
even
in
green
top
it
will
swing
for
5-10
overs
but
it’s
completely
different
in
Test
cricket.
It’s
all
about
being
disciplined
and
waiting
for
the
loose
balls
and
just
trying
to
be
as
patient
as
you
can
and
keep
discipline
in
shot
selection.”

Talking
about
the
difficult
times
when
he
was
not
playing
Test
matches,
he
said,
“You
need
that
hurt,
you
need
that
training
that
has
pushed
me
extra
hard
when
I
was
not
playing.”
Opener
Rohit
Sharma,
who
contributed
a
brilliant
83
in
India’s
first
innings
total,
said
he
enjoyed
his
time
in
the
middle
with
Rahul.

“It
was
a
great
partnership
for
us
as
a
team.
Our
goal
is
to
make
sure
we
get
the
win
on
the
board,”
said
Rohit
in
a
video
uploaded
by
the
BCCI.
Rahul
said
it
was
a
special
feeling
to
score
a
century
at
the
hallowed
Lord’s
and
witness
your
name
on
the
honours
board
of
the
iconic
ground.

“Every
time
you
walk
out
to
play
for
your
country
you
want
to
score,
give
the
team
a
good
start.
It
was
special
once
I
stepped
out
of
the
ground
and
once
you
see
your
name
in
the
honours
board
you
feel
a
sense
of
achievement
and
sense
of
pride
and
I
am
no
different.

“Every
Test
hundred
is
very
very
special
for
me
and
if
it’s
at
Lord’s
it
becomes
little
sweeter.
It
becomes
special.”
The
stylish
right-hander
said
with
the
Lord’s
pitch
not
offering
much
assistance,
Indian
bowlers
need
to
be
disciplined
and
bowl
according
to
plans
to
shoot
out
England
quickly.

“It’s
too
early
to
predict.
We
are
taking
it
as
it
comes.
Obviously,
we
want
to
go
out
there
and
get
a
couple
of
wickets
in
the
first
hour
and
put
pressure
on
the
English
batsmen.

“There
is
not
a
lot
happening
on
the
pitch.
We
need
to
be
really
discipline
with
our
line
and
length
and
just
keep
working
on
our
plans.
We
obviously
have
plans
for
every
batsmen
so
just
stick
to
those
plans,”
Rahul
said.