In the crucial clash at Lord’s, there was more misery for James Vince while England fail to heed Mitchell Starc warning.

LONDON: Australia beat England by 64 runs in Tuesday’s World Cup showdown between the fierce rivals. Australia become first side to clinch World Cup semi-final berth after England win

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the crucial Lord’s clash:

Already under siege after his spluttering start to the World Cup, England opener James Vince was condemned to fresh misery as he was dismissed for a second-ball duck.

Vince has been inserted into the England line-up after Jason Roy suffered a torn hamstring against the West Indies earlier in the tournament.

But the 28-year-old, who also owed his place in the squad to the absence of Alex Hales due to his off-field problems, has failed to make the most of his unexpected opportunity.

He scored just 26 against minnows Afghanistan and then managed only 14 when the pressure was on against Sri Lanka, the limp manner of his edge to first slip infuriating his detractors.

England captain Eoin Morgan had expressed his faith in Vince.

But, with England desperately needing a strong start to their run chase, Vince could not repay his captain’s backing as Jason Behrendorff penetrated his weak defence to hit the middle stump.

“It is a fine delivery. Another failure for James Vince. He just can’t seem to take his chance,” former England spinner Phil Tufnell said.

England fail to heed Starc warning

Mitchell Starc underlined his reputation as the World Cup’s most lethal paceman to leave England brutally exposed.

When Australia won the 2015 World Cup, he finished as the joint top wicket-taker, with 22, and was named player of the tournament.

Four years on, Starc continues to terrorise batsmen on the global stage and another devastating spell ripped the heart out of England’s batting line-up.

The left-arm quick has often had Joe Root’s number in the past and so it proved again as his potent combination of pace and swing trapped him lbw.

That huge strike came during a wicket maiden for Starc, yet the 29-year-old was just warming up.

Starc was apparently given extra motivation by choice words from an England fan, with the paceman’s wife Alyssa Healy tweeting: “High fives to the English bloke who fired up Mitch with some banter at breaky. Onya legend!!”

Suitably inspired, he struck again to remove Morgan, his clever use of the bouncer baiting the England captain into a mistimed hook that was held by Pat Cummins on the long-leg boundary.

When Ben Stokes gave the hosts renewed hope, Australia captain Aaron Finch simply recalled Starc for a decisive third spell.

Unleashing a vicious 89-miles-per-hour (143 kph) yorker, Starc comprehensively bowled Stokes for 89 to put Australia on course for the semi-finals.

He now stands in familiar territory as the leading wicket-taker in this year’s tournament, with his 19 scalps moving him above England’s Jofra Archer.

Warner, Smith back on the boos

Renowned as cricket’s spiritual home and a bastion of fair play, Lord’s proved surprisingly hostile as the usually genteel crowd let rip at shamed Australia stars David Warner and Steve Smith.

Warner and Smith had already endured taunts at several of Australia’s World Cup matches following their return to international cricket after one-year bans for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal.

Being booed at the Oval or Old Trafford is one thing, but the sound of Lord’s, with its rich history and wealthy clientele, turning on the pair was jarring and made it clear they are yet to be forgiven by the cricket establishment.

Warner was first to run the gauntlet, when he walked out to open with Aaron Finch and again after becoming the first Australian dismissed.

But the arrival of Smith was greeted with an even louder chorus of disapproval from the crowd.

By the time Smith departed for 38, the fans were in full throat, jeering him all the way up the pavilion steps to the hallowed Long Room.

Shakib al Hasan starred with both bat and ball as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Monday (June 24) to ensure their slim chance of reaching the semi-final remains intact.

Chasing 263 to win, Afghanistan could only manage 200 as Shakib enjoyed a fine day out on a pitch that assisted spinners, taking 5-29 to ensure Afghanistan slumped to yet another defeat.

Afghanistan made a fine start to the chase, with openers Gulbadin Naib and Rahmat Shah batting sensibly to take them to 48-0 after the first 10 overs.

Shakib was brought on to bowl the 11th over and struck immediately, getting Shah to give a simple catch to Tamim Iqbal at mid-on.

Naib and new batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi put together 30 runs before the latter fell to Mosaddek Hossain after some good work from Mushfiqur Rahim saw the batsman stumped.

Undeterred, Naib looked to up the ante and even managed a couple of boundaries but fell three short of his half-century when he lobbed a simple catch to Liton Das at short cover.

Shakib further turned the screws on the minnows as he rattled the stumps of the dangerous Mohammad Nabi in the same over for a duck.

He then accounted for Asghar Afghan before Ikram Ali Khil was run-out in careless fashion. However, the duo of Samiullah Shinwari and Najibullah Zadran launched a brief counter-attack thereafter.

Their 56-run stand consisted of four boundaries and one six but any hopes of them getting the team over the line were dashed when Shakib got Najibullah stumped to claim his fifth wicket of the match.

Rashid Khan fell cheaply when he tried to pull a bouncer from Mustafizur Rahman but only found Mashrafe Mortaza at mid-wicket.

Dawlat Zadran fell for nought after he edged one to Rahim off Mustafizur and the match ended when Mohammad Saifuddin rattled Mujeeb ur Rahman’s stumps on the last ball of the 47th over.

Earlier, half-centuries from Mushfiqur and Shakib took Bangladesh to 262-7 after Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first on a day when the start of play was delayed by light rain.

Shakib’s 51 took him to 476 runs in the tournament, while Rahim top-scored in Bangladesh’s 50 overs with an 87-ball 83.

Liton was promoted ahead of Soumya Sarkar to open along with Tamim for Bangladesh, with the pair managing a brisk 23 from the first four overs.

But Liton fell for 16 in the next over after being fooled into a miscued drive by Mujeeb, who finished with figures of 3-39.

That brought Shakib to the crease and he upped the tempo even further with some aggressive hitting that maintained his fine World Cup form.

Tamim and Shakib put on their fourth successive fifty partnership in one-day internationals.

But having been hit for a boundary the ball before, Nabi responded with a flighted turner that bowled Tamim for 36.

Shakib survived an lbw review off Rashid when he had made 27. Bolstered by that escape, Shakib went on to become only the second player to hit six consecutive 40-plus scores in a World Cup.

Not long after that milestone, Shakib brought up his half-century in 66 balls — his fifth score of 50 or more in this tournament — to huge cheers from the Bangladesh fans who made up the majority of the crowd.

Shakib was unable to turn his solid start into another century however, with Rahman pinning him lbw to leave Bangladesh on 143-3 in the 30th over.

Rahman was in the groove and 18-year-old spinner removed Soumya for three with another teasing delivery.

Afghanistan’s spinners had Bangladesh trapped in their web and 12 overs went by without a boundary.

Mushfiqur tried to turn the tide as he heaved a six to bring up his fifty off 56 balls. He eventually fell to Zadran in the penultimate over after guiding Bangladesh to a respectable score.

Afghanistan were bowled out for 213 in pursuit of a manageable 225 run target which at one stage looked gettable after the Indian middle-order flopped in their first World Cup test.

Southampton: Mohammad Shami’s last-over hattrick saved India from a mighty scare as they managed to pip Afghanistan by 11 runs to inch closer towards World Cup semi-finals, as brilliant death bowling compensated for an inexplicable batting display here Saturday.

Shami (9.5-1-40-4), playing his first match, not only successfully defended 16 runs off the last over but also dismissed the dangerous Mohammed Nabi (52 off 55 balls), Aftab Alam (0) and Mujeeb ur Rahman (0) off successive deliveries to complete the rare feat.

Afghanistan were bowled out for 213 in pursuit of a manageable 225 run target which at one stage looked gettable after the Indian middle-order flopped in their first World Cup test.

It was superb death bowling by Jasprit Bumrah (2/39 off 10 overs) and Shami that changed the complexion of the game. As much as Shami deserves the credit, Bumrah deserves equal plaudits for giving five runs in the penultimate over.

The pitch being a tricky one, a target of 225 against a quality bowling attack wasn’t going to be easy. There were partnerships but there was always this belief that Afghanistan batting won’t be able to sustain the pressure.

Bumrah was lethal as ever and his two wickets in the 29th over literally tilted the game before the minnows made another comeback. From a relatively comfortable 106 for 2, it became 106 for 4 with Afghanistan losing the momentum.

India vs Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2019 on June 22 (Saturday) will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and Live streaming will be available on Hotstar. The match will be played at the Rose Bowl, in Southampton and will begin at 1500 HRS IST. You can also follow all the action on our live blog. (IND vs AFG). It’s becoming way too predictable, isn’t it? The World Cup had a bit of spice in the initial stages, with West Indies and Bangladesh beating some more fancied sides, but the last week or so has become way too one-sided. The top four – New Zealand, Australia, England and India – seem to be in a different zone. Time is running out for the bottom ones to challenge them.

It’s unlikely that Afghanistan will be that team. They’re winless after five matches. Their batting has flopped, their bowling got a beating in their last game against England. Their star bowler Rashid Khan was taken apart for 110 runs in nine overs. There are reports of infighting within the team. The coach, Phil Simmons, has publicly warned of spilling the beans behind the sacking of former captain Asghar Afghan.

They now have to pick up the pieces and face another team that’s as much a favourite as the hosts for the tournament – India – in Southampton on Saturday (June 22). Life doesn’t get tougher than this.

India are on a roll. They haven’t lost a game in four matches, with one being washed out. They’ve beaten some tough teams – South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. It feels like the rest of the league stage is mere formality for India. Unfortunately, the same can be said of the league stage itself unless some teams get onto a miraculous run.

India have their issues too, but they have enough in their tank to overcome each one of them. They lost Shikhar Dhawan to injury, but KL Rahul has stepped in. They won’t have Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the next two-three matches, but have an able replacement in Mohammed Shami.

There are concerns about Vijay Shankar’s availability for this game too, after he was injured on his foot by a Jasprit Bumrah yorker, but India can turn to Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant or Ravindra Jadeja.

Shami for Bhuvneshwar weakens the lower order batting, but India have not needed to use their batting depth so far in the tournament. It says a lot about their batting form, beginning with Rohit Sharma at the top. He has two centuries and one half-century in three games, while Virat Kohli has two half-centuries, playing the second fiddle role. Who comes in at No. 4 will depend on the status of Vijay’s injury.

The bowling is in form too. Jasprit Bumrah and the two wrist spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – have been among the wickets. Kuldeep’s performance against Pakistan should give him confidence going into the second half of the tournament.

Afghanistan have been playing around with their XI, with no apparent logic. They dropped Najibullah Zadran for a game before bringing him back. Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam and Hamid Hassan, the pacers, have also been rotated around. Hazratullah Zazai, who made some decent quick starts in the first four matches, was dropped against England. Captain Gulbadin Naib promoted himself to the top of the order.

Afghanistan’s confidence would have been dented by Eoin Morgan’s assault, particularly on Rashid. It’s unlikely that any of the Indian batsmen will tee-off like Morgan or any other England batsman, but Kohli & co can accumulate runs in a steady manner. Afghanistan’s bowlers will have to drastically lift themselves from the previous match to challenge India.

The batting will take confidence from the fact that they played out 50 overs against England. The team itself can take confidence from their last encounter against India – a tie in Dubai in the Asia Cup.

Yes, it was a second string Indian side. But if Afghanistan can pull off something similar, the World Cup will be slightly more interesting.

Weather and Pitch

Saturday should see the sun out, with little chances of rain. Conditions are expected to be good for cricket.

The Ageas Bowl pitch hasn’t been a belter in this tournament. There has been help for pace and spin. India beat South Africa in a tricky 228-run chase in the first game here. England then chases down the 213-run target set by West Indies in the next completed game.

PROBABLE XI

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Vijay Shankar/Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

Afghanistan: Rahmat Shah, Noor Ali Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil(wk), Gulbadin Naib(c), Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman/Hamid Hassan, Dawlat Zadran

Australia registered their fifth win of the World Cup as they beat Bangladesh by 48 runs in a hard-fought encounter at Trent Bridge on Thursday (June 20).

David Warner led the way for Australia as his 166 helped the team post 381-5. In reply, Bangladesh on the back of a maiden World Cup ton from Mushfiqur Rahim, managed 333-8.

Bangladesh were struck an early blow in their chase when a mix-up between the two openers saw Soumya Sarkar get run out after an accurate throw from Aaron Finch.

Tamim Iqbal was then joined by Shakib al Hasan. The two put together a decent partnership that ended when Shakib departed due to a leading edge off Marcus Stoinis’ bowling which was easily claimed by Warner at mid-off.

Tamim then stitched together a 42-run partnership with Mushfiqur but a stroke of bad luck saw the former play a short ball from Mitchell Starc right onto his stumps and end what could have been a promising stand.

A lot rested on Mushfiqur and Liton Das but the latter would also depart just as the partnership begun to get going. Adam Zampa trapped Das plumb and not even a review saved him.

Undeterred, Mushfiqur batted with calmness and responsibility, eventually bringing up a fifty-run stand with Mahmudullah after completing his own half-century.

The two looked to rotate the strike so as to not let the asking rate get to far ahead of them. The 100-run stand soon came up but when Nathan Coulter-Nile dismissed Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman off successive balls, that ended Bangladesh’s resistance.

Mushfiqur brought up his 8th ODI ton towards the end of the match but Bangladesh’s highest-ever ODI total still saw them fall well short.

Warner Sets the Tone

Earlier, Warner made Bangladesh pay for an early drop with a big hundred as the reigning champions piled on the runs after opting to bat.

The opener, who was dropped on 10, made 166 in Australia’s imposing total of 381-5 — his second century of the World Cup thus far.

The 32-year-old looks back to his devastating best for Australia after completing a 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Soumya Sarkar gave Bangladesh fans something to cheer with 3-58 in eight overs on a day when not much seemed to be going their way.

The Tigers suffered a blow before play when a back spasm ruled out Mohammad Saifuddin, their leading bowler at the tournament.

His absence from the attack was definitely felt, with the recalled Rubel Hossain’s nine wicketless overs costing an expensive 83 runs.

Even so, Warner could have been out for just 10 when a slashing cut off Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza found its way to Sabbir Rahman at backward point.

But the fielder appeared not to have seen the ball properly against the backdrop of the crowd and it burst through his hands.

Finch was out soon after completing his eighth fifty in 11 ODI innings when he guided a rising Sarkar delivery straight to Rubel at short third man. But that did not stop Warner pressing on to a hundred.

He eventually fell when, trying to uppercut Sarkar, he lobbed a catch to Rubel at short third man. Warner faced 147 balls, hitting 14 fours and five sixes.

But his exit simply brought in the big-hitting Glenn Maxwell, who smashed 32 off 10 balls before he was run out.

Khawaja fell in sight of a hundred when he bottom-edged a pull off Sarkar and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim dived forward to hold a good catch while Steve Smith was plumb lbw to Mustafizur Rahman for one.

A brief rain break halted play after 49 overs before Australia scored 13 off the last over.

In a video that went viral, Gavaskar was seen singing and dancing to Shammi Kapoor’s hit song ‘Badan Pe Sitare’ along with Ranveer, who also tried to imitate Shammi Kapoor’s moves on the classic number from the 1969 film ‘Prince’.

Manchester: Batting great Sunil Gavaskar fulfilled the promise he made to actor Ranveer Singh that he will dance to a hit hindi movie song if India beat Pakistan by breaking into an impromptu jig on Sunday.

In a video that went viral, Gavaskar was seen singing and dancing to Shammi Kapoor’s hit song ‘Badan Pe Sitare’ along with Ranveer, who also tried to imitate Shammi Kapoor’s moves on the classic number from the 1969 film ‘Prince’.

Spin great Harbhajan Singh, who recently launched his YouTube channel `Turbanator`, posted the video.

Ranveer, who plays Kapil Dev in the upcoming sports period drama “`83”, had said at the post-match show in Hindi that “you haven`t seen the real side of Sunny paaji!”

Virat Kohli-led India have so far won three of their four games at the World Cup convincingly, while the tie against New Zealand was washed out without a ball bowled. In their opener, the Men in Blue beat South Africa by six wickets and followed it up with a 36-run victory over Australia.

In the big-ticket clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, India romped to a 89-run win (D/L method) in a rain-affected tie.

ICC Cricket World Cup: World Cup-winner, Dilip Vengsarkar said Ajinkya Rahane could have been a better choice for Shikhar Dhawan’s cover. Rishabh Pant was named as cover for the injured opener and the young wicketkeeper-batsman joined Team India last week in England.

Despite losing Shikhar Dhawan to a fractured thumb for an estimated three weeks, India is backing the senior southpaw to recover in time and get fit for the business end of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

KL Rahul’s record-breaking opening stand with the man in red hot form, Rohit Sharma during India’s big-ticket match against Pakistan may have comforted the think-tank that they have the reserves.

But if you ask World Cup winner Dilip Vengsarkar, hoping for an injured player to resume from where he left off does not always go to plan. Vengsarkar, as we know, is speaking from personal experience.

“It’s very difficult to say if it’s the right move. In 1983 I was injured and I was playing well at the time. By the time I recovered, India had reached the finals and they played the winning combination. And I don’t know how quickly Dhawan can recover,” he told India Today.

Vengsarkar will eternally regret not having won his place back for the 1983 World Cup final.

The Mumbai batting star was injured in a group stage encounter by a Malcolm Marshall delivery and finally recovered in time for the semi-finals. But by that time India had found the winning formula through multiple all-rounders and choose to employ the same during the business end of the tournament.

Whether Dhawan can find his touch back after having stayed away from nets, nursing his fractured thumb also remains to be seen.

Ajinkya Rahane should have been cover for Shikhar Dhawan: Vengsarkar

The other worry that props up with India continuing with a 14- member squad is a not-so-strong middle order. Vijay Shankar who played in the middle order against Pakistan played his part with the ball but isn’t yet a proven performer to bat at no.4 for the rest of the competition.

“How can Dhawan’s replacement be Rishab Pant? It baffles me about the selection committee. It’s 50 overs format and you need someone who can play through 50 overs and that I think is Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane is currently scoring in county cricket and they should have picked him,” said Vengsarkar.

Nottingham, May 31 : Chris Gayle 50 off 34, Oshane Thomas 4/27 and Jason Holder 3/42 outplayed Pakistan by 7 wickets with 218 balls remaining in the 2nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup here on Friday.
Earlier, West Indies won the toss and opted to field inviting Pakistan to bat.
Making his first World Cup debut Oshane Thomas scalped 4/27 and Jason Holder 3/42 rattled Pakistan batting line-up for a low total of 105.
Chasing a target of 106 runs, West Indies scored 108/3 in just 13.4 overs.

England will launch their World Cup 2019 campaign against South Africa at Kennington Oval on Thursday.

England, under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan, will launch their World Cup 2019 campaign against South Africa at Kennington Oval, London, on Thursday. After having suffered a first-round exit in the 2015 edition of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, England have improved tremendously in last few years and shown the world what they are capable of. In their run-up to hosting the showpiece ICC event, England climbed to the top of the One-day International (ODI) rankings and scored record highest ODI total twice, which now stands at 481 for six.

Batting has been the basis of England’s ODI rejuvenation, with Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan and the dynamic Jos Buttler among a top seven who can all change the course of an innings in the blink of an eye.

“It’s an exciting feeling being in this team as you have world-class players all around you and the opposition might get 370, but there’s a belief in the dressing room we can chase it down,” said England leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

“There is no hesitation or someone going ‘I don’t know about this’. We all have that belief and confidence we can do it,” added Rashid, whose ability to take wickets at key stages has also been an important part of England’s white-ball revival.

“We will hopefully stick to what we’ve been doing the past four years and hopefully the World Cup will work out well for us.”

South Africa have suffered plenty of World Cup heartache but having been losing semi-finalists four years there is a sense the Proteas are going under the radar this time around.

South Africa coach Ottis Gibson is convinced the pressure is all on the tournament hosts and cited comments by England quicks Stuart Broad and James Anderson — both of whom no longer play ODI cricket — as an example. 

“I heard somewhere that my two very good friends Broad and Anderson have said that England will have to do something really bad not to win this World Cup,” recalled Gibson, who knows the pair well from his time as England bowling coach.

“As far as they are concerned England have won it already.”

Former West Indies fast bowler Gibson added: “To play the hosts, the number one team, is the best way to start, because it gives us a real sense of where we are and what we need to do going forward. 

“But you don’t have to be number one to win the tournament and sometimes you can win the tournament and you don’t even go to number one.”

South Africa, captained by Faf du Plessis, are without retired star batsman AB de Villiers but their top order includes the talented Quinton de Kock.

They will be without Dale Steyn on Thursday as the outstanding fast bowler nurses a shoulder injury but South Africa have become used to his absence in recent times.

Of arguably greater importance for Thursday’s match is that Kagiso Rabada, arguably the leading paceman in world cricket today, has been passed fit following a back injury.

Teams:

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris.

Cardiff, May 29 : With a fluent knock of 108, which took India to a position of
strength after they had lost early wickets in their second warm-up match against
Bangladesh, KL Rahul seems to be in firm contention to hold India’s highly
contentious No.4 slot at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.
Successive failures by the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma
presented another opportunity for Rahul to put himself as the front-runner for the
position, and he made the most of it with a sublime century that led to skipper
Virat Kohli to call his knock the “biggest positive” to come out of India’s
warm-up gig.
“The biggest positive to come out of this game was the way KL batted at four,”
Kohli said after the outing in Cardiff.
“All the other people know their role pretty well, so it was important that KL gets
runs because he is such a sound player. He can get the scoreboard ticking and
you saw that – a great example of the skill-set that he has,” Kohli said.
Before Rahul, Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar was believed to be in contention
for the position, as indicated by MSK Prasad, the chairman of the selectors.
Vijay, who had missed the first warm-up match, against New Zealand, due to injury,
recovered quickly to feature in the game against Bangladesh. However, he could
manage just two runs and finished wicket-less in his six overs.
India had also tried out several other options at the position, including Ajinkya Rahane
and Ambati Rayudu. Rahul, who was earlier nominated as India’s reserve opener in the
tournament by Prasad, finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the Indian Premier
League last month, and sounded confident and ready to accept the new challenge.
“It is a team game, and you need to be flexible and be ready to bat wherever, or as a
player you need to be ready to take up whatever role is given to you,” he said. “Every
batsman who has played at this level knows how to handle pressure and knows how
to handle the roles and responsibilities given to him.”
The Karnataka batsman, who spent a chunk of time outside the team earlier this year,
due to a code of conduct breach, believed that the break gave him an opportunity to
reflect on his cricket. “I tried to make the best use of it [the time off]. I felt like there were
a few things with my batting and technique I needed to fix,” he said.
“I worked with my coach back home in Bangalore, and the India A games gave me a
little time with Rahul Dravid to just speak to him about mental preparation and how to
handle pressure and how to handle low confidence and low form. The best way to get
back to scoring runs is to find that form in the middle, and I got that opportunity. So from
there, I just carried on and I knew that my batting was fine and I was very hungry to
come back and score runs for whatever teams I played,” Rahul added.