It takes mental strength, toughness to succeed here: KL Rahul

ADELAIDE: India opener KL Rahul expressed his thoughts on playing in Australia and stated that it takes a lot of mental strength and toughness to succeed in the Kangaroo nation.

The batter said that the odds are stacked against visiting players and putting in a good performance in Australia gives a lot of satisfaction.

"When you come here, there is a feeling that a lot of people are against you. When you do well, it gives you a lot of satisfaction that despite all odds, you succeeded. It takes a lot of mental strength and toughness to succeed here," said Rahul while talking to Star Sports.

He talked about the experience of playing cricket in Australia and labelled it as exciting. The batter also mentioned the competitive spirit of the Aussie players and sports fans.

"It is an exciting place to play cricket. The stadiums are big and the pitches are good. While playing against Australia, one of the most competitive sides in the world, the competition is high. Even though cricket is not the number one sport here, people do know their cricket and support their team. You go out, sledging starts in grocery stores, restaurants and everywhere," mentioned the opener.

The stage is set for a high-octane second semifinal clash between India and England at the ICC T20 World Cup in Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

India finished their Group Stage at the top of their group's table, winning four out of their five Super 12 matches. A defeat to South Africa was the only blip in Men in Blue's consistent performances during the group stage. Indian batters have been solid for the most part. Suryakumar Yadav (225 runs in five matches with three fifties), and Virat Kohli (246 runs in five matches with three fifties) have carried the line-up. KL Rahul has gained form, scoring two consecutive fifties in his previous two matches, bringing his run tally to 123 runs in five.