Australia Coach Justin langer On Thursday he had said that he would be “happy” if the Indian team is a bit stressed after the humiliating defeat in the first round and would like to put pressure on Rahane, who takes over in the absence of a regular boss. virat Kohli.
“Australians are very good at playing mind games and I will let them do that. We are focusing on ourselves, what we want to do as a unit and we are going to support all of our individuals,” Rahane said on the eve of the match. .
Not as expressive or eloquent as Kohli, Rahane repeated his responses in a loop that was about “tapping into their strengths and supporting each other.”
“It is a proud moment for me to lead India, obviously it is a great opportunity, also responsibility, but I don’t want to take any pressure,” said the reliable mid-level hitter.
“I think what I want to do is support my team. So the focus is not on me, it’s about the team and how we want to do well as a team. We are focusing on that.”
Even Captain Kohli, before leaving for India for the birth of his son, urged Rahane to be himself and play cricket without fear.
“Yes, Virat spoke to all of us, before he left. We had our team’s dinner in Adelaide, so he spoke to all of us about staying in the moment, playing for each other and enjoying each other’s success and helping each other out. field.”
Rahane said an hour of bad cricket on the third morning in Adelaide does not define this team.
“Speaking of the last test match, we had comparatively two good days, only one bad hour, where we actually lost it completely,” he said.
“The talk was about supporting ourselves as an individual and as a team, building on our strengths and whatever we planned in the first test match, just stick with it.”
Young starter Shubman Gill will make his debut in the second test and Rahane said he wants to give him and Mayank Agarwal freedom and not put them under undue pressure.
“Seeing the role of starters, not just in Australia, but everywhere is really crucial, I don’t want to put pressure on our starters, I just want to give them freedom to play their game.
“… when you get that partnership, when you have that base, then it becomes really easy for the hitters to come.”
Mohammed Siraj will also make his debut on Saturday and Rahane called him “equally talented” despite not naming him as the media interaction occurred before India released its game XI.
Rahane hopes Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav will form a formidable partnership as he leads the unit from Gully, where it will be stationed.
“Aside from Jasprit, Umesh (Yadav) and the boy (Siraj) who will be playing instead of (Mohammed) Shami tomorrow, they are also equally talented.
“Umesh has done very well for so many years, so for us it’s about bowling in society.”
. @ ajinkyarahane88 in @ imVkohli’s message for #TeamIndia before his departure. #AUSvIND https://t.co/nui9nKZvU6
– BCCI (@BCCI) 1608881626000
So any specific areas that hitters worked on?
“Nothing really special, we have to support our basics, support our plans, like I said before, we just had a bad hour, so it’s all about staying positive, supporting your own ability and making partnerships,” Rahane said.
India has won three events in the last 73 years at MCG and Rahane acknowledges that the wicket will be a little different this time.
“Overall MCG is … 2018 was slightly different terrain, but overall, when we played here in 2014 and the other teams when they played here, it’s actually very good terrain, it plays really well,” Rahane said.
There may be a change offer as India has two spinners on board.
“Tomorrow will be different. We don’t know, we have to go see and adapt to the gate as quickly as possible.”
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