More relieved than proud, says Lokesh Rahul

SYDNEY: Only 22, there were fears KL Rahul had been rushed into Test cricket when he fell victim to nerves in Melbourne with the bat, and dropped catches on the first day in this game.
Sent in at the awkward position of No. 6 in the first innings in the Boxing Day match, Rahul lasted eight balls. He was even dropped once at midwicket trying to blast Lyon out of sight, and responded by trying to sweep a delivery bowled into the rough outside off.He managed only a top edge.
In the second innings, the team management pushed him to No. 3, and the same brain freeze followed: he took on Johnson's short delivery and found himself not adequate to the task.
Here at the SCG, his nightmares seemed to continue when he dropped Chris Rogers at second slip when the batsman was on 19, and Warner at backward point when on 62.
Thursday, however, was a different story as the batsman, having come in to open, crafted his maiden Test century and dished out a lesson in application. The abstinence in his strokeplay was at odds with Melbourne's intemperance.
He played late, worked the ball and bided his time, knowing the runs would come. Along the way -though he said he didn't know when -the nerves eased and Rahul knew he belonged at this level. "I'm more relieved than proud," he said.
"I didn't have the debut I expected. It was a nightmare. I dropped a sitter here. I kept telling myself the only way from here is up. I came out thinking this is my first game. I don't know what was going on in my mind. It was all too fast. Batting up the order gave me a little more time to calm myself down. After I batted last night, I realized this is a bat-and-ball game. I'm very pleased with this knock."
There's a touch of that other Rahul - Dravid ­ in his batting too, that same gift of technical nous. This is no surprise, given Dravid has been involved in grooming this young 22-year-old from Bangalore, and the two share a strong mentor-pupil relationship.
"As a young kid in Bangalore, Rahul Dravid used to come and train with us whenever he was not playing international cricket. That gave all the youngsters an opportunity to talk to him," said Rahul. "He (Dravid) has always been kind enough to share his experience. He has always given good advice. He is a good role model to look up to."
Dravid, in fact, spoke out strongly for Rahul's selection for this Australia series before the selection meeting in November, saying, "Rahul has scored over 1000 runs in the domestic season and looks in really good form with twin hundreds in the Duleep final, so it's good to pick him if he's in good form."
Rahul had a tremendous domestic season, scoring 1158 runs in 15 first-class matches at 52.63. There was the century in each innings for South Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy final.
He has worked his way through the ranks, having represented India under-19s at the 2010 World Cup and also India A, for which he toured Australia but averaged in the mid-30s.
"The seniors told me you don't always get a debut you expect," Rahul said on Thursday. "It was a rush of blood (in Melbourne). I have batted in the middle order earlier. That is one of the key things players told me - take time between balls and give yourself time to breathe. "The main difference between international and domestic cricket is the mental preparation. You have to be more disciplined with the shot selection since then bowlers don't give anything away. I play the pull shot in domestic cricket but here it has got me into trouble. Duncan (Fletcher) and Ravi Shastri have been very supportive."
After the debut ton, Rahul seemed at pains to point out that he was fighting a battle for survival. Importantly, he had the luck he needed, with Steve Smith having a bad day in the field.
Having passed this ordeal, maybe India will see Rahul taking his game up a notch, to the point where he can start enjoying himself at the crease. The debut century in Sydney places Rahul with the likes of VVS Laxman and Brian Lara, who too got to three figures first at the SCG. It promises a lot.
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