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IND vs SA: Change of attitude worked for us during second Test, states KL Rahul

KL Rahul says "shift in the attitude" before the commencement of the second Test against South Africa helped in winning. The Men in Blue were more ready in the second game and were ready to give more fight to bounce back with a victory, he adds.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has remarked that a shift in the attitude before the commencement of the second Test against South Africa helped them secure a victory.
File: KL Rahul

By ETV Bharat Sports Team

Published : Jan 5, 2024, 1:33 PM IST

Cape Town: Indian batter KL Rahul has opined that a slight shift in the attitude worked for the team in the second Test against South Africa to script a win.

After a humiliating defeat in the first Test of the series, Indian bowlers dished out a brilliant performance in the second game to ink a victory by seven wickets. They wrapped up the opposition for 55 in the first innings, which gave Indians the edge over the Proteas. Reflecting on what changed after their defeat in the first game, Rahul revealed that there was a slight change in attitude and planning.

"There was a little bit of change of the planning and attitude only. I mean we can't say that we weren't ready during the last Test match. We were ready but there are situations where the opposition really blasts you out of the Test match or we are not used to it. Since the last 4-5 years, we've been a team that's really competed and we have won series outside of India(sic)."

According to the Wicket Keeper, the team wasn't ready for the first Test loss and it hit them hard. It spoke volumes about how much they enjoyed playing Test cricket and how much they valued playing for the country and how much Test victories outside of India meant to them, Star Sports quoted Rahul as saying.

India faced a lot of criticism for their dismal show in the first Test where the team managed to post totals of 245 and 131 while the hosts posted a total of 408 in their first innings, forcing an innings defeat on the visitors. The batters struggled a lot against the South African bowling unit in the fixture. Rahul stated that mental shift was the reason behind the comeback of the team in the series.

"...it was just a mental shift during the turnaround time of one day. We were more ready this time and we were ready for a fight. We wanted to get this win and just do our job really well," he said.

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