Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has posted a special tweet in praise of the fighting spirit of, and the comeback made by, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to help India kick-start their World Cup 2023 campaign with a brilliant victory over Australia in Chennai.
In the chase of the target of 200 runs, on a tricky, two-paced pitch at the Chepauk, India lost their first three wickets- Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer – in the first 12 balls of the chase and were reeling at 2/3 when Virat Kohli and KL Rahul joined hands in the middle.
Kohli got a life when Mitchell Marsh dropped a comfortable catch when Kohli was only on 12 runs. He made the Aussies pay for that, ending up with a match-winning knock of 85 runs. KL Rahul played his part and continued on his brilliant form in the middle-order in ODIs.
Kohli and Rahul forged a fourth-wicket stand of 165 (215). After Kohli’s wicket, with the victory within touching distance, Rahul played his shots freely and hit some boundaries. Rahul finished off the chase with a six, remaining unbeaten on 97 runs.
Seeing this fightback from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul on a tough pitch to bat on, against a quality opposition, as the pair took India from 2/3 to out of danger with their 165-run partnership, Shoaib Akhtar put out a tweet hailing the duo.
Akhtar tweeted: “This is how you come back in a match. Wow. #INDvAUS”
Man of the match KL Rahul said: “(On walking out at 2/3) Quite honestly not a lot of conversation, I thought I’d get a good shower and get a break. I was just trying to get my breath back. Virat said there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a bit of help for the pacers with the new ball, and then the spinners also. In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part and that helped quite a bit. The ball also skidded on better. However, it was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat as well. It was a good cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers.”
