KL Rahul looked assured in the first innings of the series opener against Australia before a controversial decision ended his innings on 26 runs. He was not finished with this and went on to score 77 runs in the second essay. He was under massive pressure before the series as his place was not confirmed in the Playing XI.

The right-hander was given just one Test against New Zealand and was benched for the remaining two contests.

Former India player and current team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar credited proper and early communication from head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma for the batter’s success in Perth.

“KL Rahul was informed during the New Zealand Test series that he would open in the first Test against Australia. We were aware that Rohit would be unavailable for the Perth game. The early communication from Gambhir and Rohit was loud and clear. Rahul started preparing for the tour of Australia from there on.

“He was also sent early to Australia to play for India A and get used to the conditions. So, early communication is the reason for his good display over here. Communication plays an important role, and this is what happened in Rahul’s case,” Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports.

Rahul shared a 201-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 161 runs off 297 balls. The young southpaw hit 15 fours and three sixes.