He remained not out at 112, with 11 fours and a six.
With a glorious six over long-on, KL Rahul reached his 8th ODI hundred for India in the second match against New Zealand. With nine boundaries and a celebratory six, Rahul completed his century in 87 balls in the penultimate over of the first innings in Rajkot.
Put to bat first, Rohit Sharma (24) and Shubman Gill (56) were off to a good start. Virat Kohli, the No.1 ODI batter, added 23 runs. But the home side kept losing wickets in quick succession. India were reeling at 115/3 in 21.3 overs when the 33-year-old walked out to bat at No.5, one spot higher than the series opener in Vadodara. While the batting order collapsed from one end, Rahul kept his cool and anchored the innings. He made 112 not out as India struggled to put 284/7.
In his decade-long ODI career, Rahul has batted 33 times at No.5. Since Gautam Gambhir became the head coach, he returned to this spot only three times in 15 innings. In these three instances, Rahul has proved his mettle, including a century today. However, he is time and again pushed down to No.6 to play the role of a finisher, despite his phenomenal performances in the middle order.
With another triple-figure mark, the crisis man has quietly showcased his potential and sparked a debate that’s often shut down with a left-right batting combination.
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The wicketkeeper-batter has often been on the receiving end of criticism for not helping India over the line. After Kohli’s wicket, a lot of similarities were drawn with the ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia, which also took place in Gujarat. However, fans witnessed a different version of KL Rahul today, someone who took pressure well. He started slow, but he was able to switch gears to help India reach a respectable total, unlike the other unfateful day in Ahmedabad.
Rahul’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed as fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to appreciate the player.
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