Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar heaped high praises on India star KL Rahul for his 97* against Australia which helped India start their World Cup 2023 on a positive note with a 6-wicket win in Chennai. Akhtar went on to say that Rahul batted even better than Virat Kohli, playing a “chanceless” innings that even Kohli couldn’t manage.
In the chase of the target of 200 runs, India lost three early wickets – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer all got out for ducks – and India were 2/3 in 2 overs. Then, Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97*) resurrected the innings with their partnership of 165 runs which put India in a winning position. While Kohli looked nervy initially – missing a couple of outside off-stump deliveries and even had a dropped catch from Marsh when he was on 12 – Rahul was in his best elements, looking so assured and confident of his plans and technique.
India won only because of KL Rahul: Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar praised the Man of the Match KL Rahul for his terrific innings under pressure, having come in to bat at the score of 2/3. Akhtar posted a video on Twitter to applaud Rahul’s knock and his temperament.
“Today @klrahul showed how matches are won under extreme pressure” he captioned the video.
“India has won it [match vs Australia] only because of KL Rahul. The way he asserted his authority today. Rahul showed today that he is in a different league and why he is so important for India’s middle-order, and why he’s such a big player,” Akhtar said.
“Even though Virat Kohli, too, played very well, it wasn’t a chanceless innings like KL Rahul. If you look at the situation Rahul came in to bat, he showed his authority while not giving any chance. He showed his selflessness, about putting his team before himself: he only attacked for the boundaries when India were in a commanding position,” he added,
India’s next match in the tournament is against Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi. A flat pitch was served in Delhi for the South Africa vs Sri Lanka game; fans would be hoping for a similar surface.
