India opener KL Rahul, who has grown up playing at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, feels that day three was the best day for batting in the ongoing Test between India and Australia.
The 24-year-old, who scored his second half-century of the match on Monday, expects the pitch to produce more unpredictable bounce on day four.
“It was a little bit easier than the first innings. I thought in the first innings in the first session, [pitch] was a little damp and that’s why the ball was bouncing a little bit more,” said Rahul.
“The wicket was the best to bat today. I have played all my cricket here and I have played a lot of first-class cricket and I know the third day is the best day to bat on this wicket.
“On the fourth day, the wicket starts doing some tricks. Few [deliveries] will go down and few will jump up. I’ve seen that a lot.”
After Rahul’s dismissal, India lost captain Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja quickly and found themselves in huge trouble at 120-4 with a lead of just 33 runs.
But Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane put on an unbeaten 93-run partnership to bring the hosts right back into the match.
“I have played a lot of cricket here for the Karnataka team and we always know that on the fourth day, the cracks will start opening up. The longer we bat, it’s going to get harder for Australia to bat in the fourth innings,” added Rahul.
