‘Surya told me if he looked ‘to be defensive on this pitch, I am not sure I will be able to do the job .. I am going to play my shots’: Rahul shares Suryakumar’s secret recipe

Suryakumar Yadav is a man on a mission. Every match he plays, he seems to be growing in confidence and that bodes well for Team India in the World Cup.
On a hot and sultry evening in Greenfield Stadium, Surya would be accompanied KL Rahul in the middle, who shared firsthand on what made the flamboyant batter tick.
“After the first ball that hit him [Nortje’s nipbacker cut in and bounced to rap Surya on his chest almost], he just woke up!” Rahul would say with a smile. “He just wants to play his shots and be aggressive. And take on the bowling.”
“He said if I look to be defensive on a pitch like this, I am not sure I will be able to do the job for the team. I am going to stick with what I know best and play my shots and see how I can get runs. That actually helped me and play one end,” the Indian vice captain revealed what Surya told him in the middle.
Talking about the pitch, Rahul said, It’s right up there as one of the toughest pitches that we have played in. We have played in some difficult conditions like this but I haven’t got runs, so this was hard work. We had practiced here yesterday and that was a humbling experience as well. We all came in prepared mentally as it was not going to be an easy wicket and I was ready to do the dirty work, ready to be challenged and get the job done for the team.
Asked about Arshdeep Singh’s brilliant performance during the powerplay, Rahul said, “He’s growing with each game and with each outing he gets better, he is somebody who has a big heart and I have seen him in close quarters while playing in the IPL. This season what he did for his franchise was phenomenal and to be the number one death bowler in a team which has Rabada speaks highly of him.”
“We always want a left-arm seamer and it is great to have someone like Arshdeep,” he said before signing off.