"Enjoy the process": KL Rahul's inspiring words for budding cricketers before second ODI against New Zealand

Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], January 13 (ANI): Ahead of the second ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday, India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul shared words of wisdom and inspired budding cricketers during the Men in Blue's training session in Vadodara.

"It's not like you'll never get the opportunity. You'll be sitting outside for 2-3 years. If you don't get the opportunity in the state, then you'll get some other tournament to perform and show your skills and talent," Rahul said in a video posted on the Indiancricketteam's Instagram.

"You just have to constantly keep working on yourself and keep yourself ready. If you get a chance, you'll have to perform in such a way that you can't drop after that. But even in that, you'll have to enjoy the process. There's no other option for the player. That's all you have in your hands," Rahul added.

When Rahul was asked about how elite players deal with the difficult phase, the keeper-batter replied, "That phase is difficult for everyone. It's not like no player goes through that phase. He's always at the top. It won't happen with anyone. You'll get angry and frustrated. But you have to snap out of it. Don't give up. I'll do what I can. And when God gives me a chance, I'll use it."

Meanwhile, India won the first ODI by four wickets against New Zealand. The Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series.

Runs from the bats of captain Shubman Gill (56), Virat Kohli (93), Shreyas Iyer (49) and lower-order aplomb from KL Rahul (29) and all-rounder Harshit Rana (29) helped India chase a challenging 301-run target against New Zealand.

With the ball, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj each claimed two wickets earlier in the match to restrict the Kiwis to 300/8 despite a strong 117-run partnership between Henry Nicholls and Devon Conway.

Squads:

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ayush Badoni, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel.

New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Jayden Lennox, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae. (ANI)

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