Rajkot: Batting anywhere in the middle order? No problem. Multi-tasking with the wicketkeepers’ gloves? Not a bother. Discover new batting gears and new strokes? Yes. No one plays the quintessential team man better than KL Rahul. On Wednesday, with India in a spot of bother in the Rajkot ODI against New Zealand, Rahul again rescued the team.
A hard knock on the helmet first ball and a thumping lofted drive over covers to finish. From that ungainly start to the authoritative finish, Rahul stroked a masterful unbeaten 112 (92b, 11x4, 1x6) that oozed class all through his 28.3 overs at the crease. It was his second century against New Zealand, and the third overall in 87 innings.
Amid a battery of batting stars, Rahul shone the brightest. Only the other day in Vadodara, after his composure helped win India the day against New Zealand, Rahul had reminded how he never had to work extra hard to be consistent as he does now in the middle order as the opener’s role came naturally to him. In his 93rd ODI, it was his 36th innings at No.5, compared to 23 as opener and 13 at No.4.
Acing the middle order has become a far more demanding task with the art of constant shifting of gears on the wane in the power-hitting era. Twice in the series Rahul has shown his versatility, finishing the run chase in the first ODI and delivering the perfect rescue act at Rajkot. Dial Rahul for support is fast becoming a thing.
{{/usCountry}}Acing the middle order has become a far more demanding task with the art of constant shifting of gears on the wane in the power-hitting era. Twice in the series Rahul has shown his versatility, finishing the run chase in the first ODI and delivering the perfect rescue act at Rajkot. Dial Rahul for support is fast becoming a thing.
{{/usCountry}}Like in the previous match, Rahul saw two quick wickets fall – he came in on Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal (115/3) and Virat Kohli (118/4) fell immediately after.
With the pitch slowing down and plenty of time left in the innings, Rahul knew he had to play the anchor to begin with, else the hosts risked conceding a significant advantage to New Zealand. Rahul was promoted one position up to No.5 with more than half the overs left in the innings, but that didn’t matter after Kohli’s wicket.
While building a partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, who was feeling the heat with below par performances piling up, Rahul took the onus to dance down the track and drive Glenn Phillips past cover to end a spell of 62 balls without a boundary. Rahul had to take such calculated risks with the Kiwi spinners holding up the scoring rate with their accuracy.
Whether it was finding the angles through a packed leg side or smothering the spin in trying to meet the ball early, Rahul was the only Indian batter who looked in command. He dominated the two big stands, for the fifth and sixth wickets with Jadeja and Nitish Reddy.
It was only in the death overs, after keeping India in the game at a scoring rate of five till then, did he begin to truly chancing his arm. He used the reverse sweep to good effect when there was an opportunity, but targeted the straight and cover boundaries the most against pacers once he got used to the pace of the wicket.
An emphatic six well over Kyle Jamieson’s 6’8” frame took Rahul to his hundred before he broke into a familiar whistling celebration, expressing fatherly love for his 10-month-old daughter.
“It does make a huge difference when I am in a good space outside the field,” Rahul had said in an interview after Vadodara. “I am that kind of individual, if I am happy outside the field, if I am excited to play my cricket, it helps. It’s something I have realised as I have grown older.”
Most sportspersons yearn to be in the zone – a subliminal feeling of mastery in their art. Not everyone gets to experience that, certainly not all the time. Brick by brick, Rahul is building towards being there, by acing the most difficult tasks with consummate ease.