Indian vice-captain KL Rahul finally managed to find his lost groove amidst severe trolling and criticism around his strike rate in the shortest format of the game. KL Rahul registered a stunning fifty against South Africa in the 2nd T20I match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
Asked to bat first, KL Rahul walked out to open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma and gave a solid start to the team. He smashed his first ball of the innings for a boundary to not waste any time. He smashed three more fours and a six in the powerplay that took his score to 25(11). Roles were reversed, KL Rahul was seen in the attacking mode and Rohit Sharma was seen playing the anchor role.
While Rohit was playing every shot very cautiously, KL continued to smash the South African bowlers to all the corners of the ground. He finally smashed spinner Aiden Markram for a boundary to complete a 24-ball half-century.
KL Rahul. who hit five fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 203.57, was awarded the Player of the Match award, however, the star opener feels that if anyone deserved that award was Suryakumar Yadav and not him.
After KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli continued the carnage and produced a scintillating show with their bats. Walking out to bat at number 4, Suryakumar Yadav smashed 5 fours and as many sixes en route to his blazing knock, scoring 61 off just 22 deliveries before being run out by Temba Bavuma. Virat Kohli, who played second fiddle to SKY, remained unbeaten on 49 runs.
After the match, when KL Rahul was presented with the Player of the Match award, he stated how SKY deserved to win the award and not him as he changed the momentum of the game. He said:
“It is important as an opener to understand what is required on a day and give it your best. It is the mindset I have always played in and will continue to do the same. Satisfying to test yourself in different conditions. Quite honestly, after the first two overs, the chat between me and Rohit was that the pitch was gripping. We thought 180-185 would be a good target. But the game surprises us. “
He added: “I am surpirsed I am getting the Man of the Match award, Surya should have gotten it. He changed the game. Having batted in the middle order, I have realized that it is difficult. DK doesn’t always get too many balls to face, and he was phenomenal, and so were Surya and Virat. The back foot punch off the first ball set me up. When I play both sides of the wicket, I know my balance is good. It tells me my head is stable. The crowds always turn up in India. It has been a while since cricket has been played in full stadiums. Phenomenal to see.”
