KL Rahul kept his composure in the final moments of the game and took India home with six balls to spare.
India were pretty much going in cruise control mode before the stadium went silent for a bit. Virat Kohli returned to the pavilion without finishing a run-chase and things started to look scary for India. However, KL Rahul stood composed at one end and guided India home, but not with the support of Harshit Rana.
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter spoke after the match, reflecting on his innings and the final few overs of the match. Due to Washington Sundar’s injury, Harshit Rana was sent to bat at No.7 and he did a decent job. Rana scored 29 off 23 deliveries scoring two boundaries and a maximum.
KL Rahul credited the knock played by Harshit Rana, and mentioned how it took the pressure off him. The 24-year-old was constantly on the lookout for boundaries and came out with an aggressive mindset which gave the time for KL Rahul to settle into his role.
“Harshit took pressure off me, game became easier with the kind of striking he did. I was pretty calm towards the end. We weren’t chasing many. You’re expected to chase 6-7 runs per over easily at this level 9/10 times. I didn’t know Washi couldn’t run properly. He had some injury in the first innings”, said KL Rahul.
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In the lead up to the 2023 ODI World Cup and beyond, KL Rahul was cemented as India’s No.5 in the 50-over format. Not just that, the wicketkeeper-batter from Karnataka was reaping rich rewards at the position, winning India a lot of games.
However, this Indian management seems to have it a different way. The batting orders since Gautam Gambhir has taken over seem to be very fluid, and have been very difficult to predict. KL Rahul walked in to bat at No.6 in the 1st ODI, as opposed to his regular spot at No.5.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) opener also laid emphasis on the fact that he was constantly reminding Harshit Rana to take it easy in the middle. The speedster has a habit of getting over-aggressive with the bat in hand, and that is what KL Rahul had to curb via communication. Rahul also revealed that the dressing room observes a lot of potential in Harshit Rana.
“I had to calm him [Harshit Rana] down. He was like ‘please remind me not to hit sixes every ball’. He has good attitude with the bat, sometimes is a bit too overconfident, but I’ll rather have a youngster who’s overconfident than someone who’s not confident at all. I had to remind him to aim for one boundary an over and then take it slower”, said Rahul about his communication with Harshit Rana.
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter is slowly drifting towards the finisher’s role in ODI cricket – something that he is capable of. Having said that, it would be interesting to see if the Blues cement his place for that role or continue to keep the batting order completely situational.
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