'Knocking the ball around and...': Virat Kohli reveals 'highlight' of partnership with KL Rahul

Team India garnered a rollicking start to the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The Men in Blue defeated Australia by 6 wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul emerged as the heroes of the match as they put on a match-winning stand of 165 runs.

3 things you need to know

• India started the World Cup 2023 campaign on a positive note
• Team India defeated Australia by 6 wickets
• KL Rahul was adjudged the man of the match for his unbeaten knock of 97

Also Read | 'Still don't understand': Yuvraj Singh comes down hard on Shreyas Iyer's display in IND vs AUS match

India defeat Australia by 6 wickets

At 2/3, India were in a precarious situation and an embarrassing defeat was seemingly looming. However, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul handled the nerves and showcased risk-free cricket to stage a comeback. The duo piled up a record-breaking 165-run partnership, which seamlessly brought India to the stage of victory. After the initial topple, the meagre target of 200 turned into a momentous one, but in the end, it proved to be too little as KL Rahul missed out on a well-deserved century. For consolation, he took home the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten innings of 97. The other prepollent of the win, Virat Kohli, was held out after scoring a vital 85 runs.

Also Read | WATCH: Despite scoring 97, KL Rahul fell down in disappointed after hitting winning six; Here's why

Virat Kohli gives a break down of the partnership with KL Rahul

Following the win, on the next day, the protagonists of the win got back together and gave a break down of their massive contribution. In the video published by BCCI, Virat Kohli told KL Rahul about how they met the need of the hour and kept knocking the ball around.

They both got #TeamIndia the first win of #CWC23 💪

As the bandwagon moves to Delhi, here's @imVkohli & @klrahul dissecting their match-winning partnership against Australia 👌

P.S. The local lad is bracing himself for his homecoming 🏟️ 

Watch the full interview 🎥 👇… pic.twitter.com/HSXYovY43T

— BCCI (@BCCI)

"The highlight of our partnership for me was how content we were to just knock the ball around. It was not about how many balls we had played and how many runs we had got.

"Just fighting through the physical challenges of what we had come through in the afternoon and in the evening the pressure even makes you more tensed and fatigued. Just knocking the ball around and reducing the total by 10-15 runs at a time. That for me was something that helped us build the big partnership."

It is all laughs now while reflecting on the performance. 

"I know the situation wasn't ideal. When you came in, I know you were all over the place while walking in and you were still padding up and putting gloves and all that (laughs). The first thing I told you was that it was a quick turnaround. It was quite bizarre. The start was quite bizarre."