KL Rahul has not let the Indian team miss Rishabh Pant, either with bat or with the gloves. Barring one bad game against New Zealand, KL Rahul has been flawless behind the stumps as a wicket-keeper in the ongoing World Cup 2023.
He has been sensational with the bat. After missing out on a century by just three runs in the first game against Australia, Rahul got to a three-figure mark in the last over against the Netherlands with back to back sixes.
His onslaught against the Dutch bowlers in Bangalore, his hometown, meant that KL Rahul became the fastest centurion for India in World Cup, smashing his century in 62 balls. He is also just the second Indian wicket-keeper, after Rahul Dravid in 1999 World Cup, to hit a hundred in ODI World Cup.
On his wicket-keeping, KL Rahul has so far taken 11 catches and affected one stumping in the World Cup. The most impressive part has been his excellent awarness during the DRS; he’s earned the respect and faith of Rohit Sharma, the India captain turns to Rahul even before the bowler everytime there is a DRS discussion, and more often Rahul is proven correct.
After completing his century, KL Rahul took a funny swipe at Rohit Sharma and the bowlers that he doesn’t get enough credit for his wicket-keeping duties and his excellent with the DRS.
“It (wicketkeeping) gets difficult sometimes, but I enjoy being involved in the game, the bowlers have challenged me during DRS calls, but they don’t give me enough credit, (for DRS)” Rahul said with a cheeky smile on his face.
Batting at five, it’s important to get that confidence: KL Rahul
Speaking on his century, Rahul pointed out that he hasn’t gotten a lot of batting in recent games, so he felt nie to spent a long period of time in the middle, most importantly, he got the confidence of batting in death overs and hitting the boundaries ahead of the semi-final.
“Not gotten a lot of time (to bat) in the last two games, so it was nice to get some time today. Batting at five, it’s important to get that confidence, it was a good knock. Getting that confidence to hit sixes towards the end was important,” Rahul added.
India play New Zealand in the semi-final on Wednesday in Mumbai.
