KL Rahul has played an extremely crucial inning for the Indian team against New Zealand in the second One Day International (ODI) of their three-match series.
Stepping out once again amid sort of a batting collapse, the wicket keeper-batsman smashed his eighth ODI century in 87 deliveries in the 49th over of the match, guiding India to a respectible total.
This is his second ton against New Zealand, and third while batting at this particular position (number 5) or below, as well as a wicket keeper.
India Post 284 vs New Zealand In Rajkot
New Zealand won the toss and asked India to bat first in Rajkot, and the opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill chipped in with 70 runs.
The start was slow, but soon picked up pace, with the Hitman scoring 24, getting out first, and the captain departing on 56.
Virat Kohli, coming off a 93-run inning from the previous IND vs NZ ODI, could only muster 23 runs off 29 deliveries. Shreyas Iyer, the vice captain, himself was dismissed on 8 runs.
In this concerning situation, KL Rahul stepped in and provided a sense of calm, just as he does, standing in the middle till the end, guiding India to 284 runs with a century.
Notably, while he only hit a solitary six, he scored fours on 11 occasions today, finishing on the score of 112 off 92 deliveries.
Challenge For New Zealand?
A target of 285 doesn’t appear very challenging in the modern era of white-ball cricket, but the pitch in Rajkot doesn’t exactly seem ideal for fast-paced run-scoring.
If the Indian bowling attack, featuring the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana are able to make good use of the conditions, then chasing this score down might as well start seeming like an uphill task.
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