KL Rahul salutes Ravindra Jadeja and sends a strong message to Gautam Gambhir & Co.

India managed to avoid the follow-on in spectacular fashion in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. While Akash Deep scored the crucial runs down the order, it was the knocks of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja that really helped India over the next score.

Both Rahul and Jadeja joined as India struggled to 74-5 with over 150 runs still needed to avoid the follow-on. Both batsmen had a simple plan to bide their time and punish the bad balls on offer.

It worked as they frustrated the Australian bowlers and took India closer to the chase score. Rahul and Jadeja put together a vital partnership of 67 runs for the sixth wicket before Rahul was dismissed by spinner Nathan Lyon.

See: Sunil Gavaskar indirectly calls Mohammed Siraj ‘dumb’ after huge mix-up in Brisbane Test

KL Rahul salutes Ravindra Jadeja after a good knock

After the day’s match ended, KL Rahul held a press conference in which he was asked several questions. When Rahul was asked about Jadeja’s knock, he was full of praise for him and praised the all-rounder for a special knock under pressure. He praised Jadeja for adding crucial runs with the tail that helped India avoid the follow-on.

“He (Ravindra Jadeja) was brilliant today and he’s been brilliant to lower down the order for us for many years. That’s what we expect from (Ravindra) Jadeja and he’s shown he can do that and he’s done so. So many years, very happy to have been able to partner with him,” Rahul told reporters.

“He was much needed at that stage and then he scored 70-80 runs with the tail. Every run today was crucial for us to get through that chase in the first place and see how many runs we can put on board. He made it possible “, he added.

“I like batting with him” – KL Rahul on Ravindra Jadeja

KL Rahul further said that Ravindra Jadeja was a very experienced player who knows how to play in a given situation. He praised the improvement in Jadeja’s batting and claims that the all-rounder has all his plans sorted out.

“He is a very experienced guy, he has played there for so many years, so he understands exactly what he has to do and how he has to perform and get runs for the team at this stage,” Rahul said.

“Often you only talk about Jadeja’s bowling, but I think he has been a great performer even with the bat. He has a solid technique. I like batting with him, I like watching him play. Watching him train , training, it seems. have his game plan pretty simple and tidy, so very happy that he can come into the team and do the job for us,” he concluded.

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja the stars of India

KL Rahul was India’s top scorer with 84 off 139 balls. He hit 8 fours during his knock in which he looked mostly solid and weathered the storm of some incredible bowling from the Aussie quicks.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja was India’s second highest run-scorer in this innings. The left-hander scored 77 off 123 balls with 7 fours and 1 six. Despite losing Rahul, Jadeja continued to bat with the tail and helped India clear the follow-on target.