Sunil Gavaskar's critical 'respect' remark as India legend explains difference between KL Rahul and other India batters

KL Rahul remained unbeaten on Day 3 and India will hope for the batter to convert his strong start when the play resumes at the Gabba.

Team India faced yet another batting collapse during the first innings of the Brisbane Test, as the side was left reeling at 51/4 by the end of Day 3. While Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed on the second ball of the innings, Shubman Gill, too, failed to make a mark; Virat Kohli, meanwhile, was caught chasing the ball outside off-stump again, as he scored only 3.

India's KL Rahul walks off the field after losing his wicket during the day two of the second cricket test match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide (AP)

The lack of discipline shown by the Indian batters may have become a pattern over the course of this Test season, but one batter who has done most things right – particularly in the ongoing tour of Australia – is KL Rahul. The right-handed batter remained unbeaten at the end of the day as he opened the batting for the side, scoring 33 off 64 deliveries.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has now explained the reason behind Rahul's success so far; when asked on India Today about ‘what KL Rahul is doing right’ in comparison to the other batters in the team, Gavaskar explained that he remains “still” and that his head position helps him judge the line of the ball.

“He is very still at crease. There is a little trigger movement, but his head is upright, and that's the reason why he is able to judge where the off-stump is, and leave those deliveries. And that is so essential. When the ball is hard and new, and bowlers are on top, you need to give them the respect for the first half-an-hour or 45 minutes, because the next 5 hours are yours,” said Gavaskar.

Rahul joined by Rohit

After Rishabh Pant, the hero of the Indian team the last time it played at the Gabba, was also dismissed for just 9, Indian captain Rohit Sharma joined Rahul at the crease. Rohit, too, has been facing immense criticism after prolonged struggles with the bat in the longest format, having scored only one half-century across the five home Tests since August.

In the Adelaide Test last week, Rohit failed to breach double figures across both innings, and will be aiming for a strong comeback as India require a game-changing partnership on Day 4.