Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped praise on KL Rahul after he delivered in the opening Test match of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Rahul was under the pump before the opening Test and he was asked to open in the absence of full-time captain skipper Rohit Sharma.
The flamboyant batter was able to grab his chance with both hands as he returned with scores of 26 and 77 at Perth. Rahul didn’t have the rub of the green on his side as he was given out controversially by the third umpire in the first innings despite lack of evidence.
The Karnataka batter added 201 runs for the opening alliance in the second innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, which is the highest for India on Australian soil.
“KL Rahul… we talk so much about him, that KL is not making runs, this is not happening for him or that is not happening but in the end, you see, if you give a (long) run to a player — he is a quality player, KL Rahul — and I am so happy for him,” Harbhajan Singh said on PTI.
On the other hand, the Turbanator also showered praise on Jasprit Bumrah. The gun fast bowler returned with match figures of 8-72 and bagged Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling show.
“Bumrah is an amazing player, and of course, he has got a great mindset. I have been a huge supporter of Bumrah from Day One and he has got that very calm kind of personality,” he said.
“He knows his game and he is one of those guys who is a very likeable person in the dressing room. He commands a lot of respect in the dressing room. So when such a person leads you from the front, the team obviously follows,” Harbhajan added.
Bumrah claimed 5-30 in the first innings and then had 3-42 in the second essay.
The second Test match between Australia and India, which will be a pink-ball game, will be played at Adelaide Oval from December 6 onwards.
