KL Rahul joins star-studded list of Sehwag, Rohit, Dhawan with masterful century against Pakistan at Asia Cup

KL Rahul has joined the star-studded list of Sehwag, Rohit, Kohli and Dhawan with a brilliant century against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

With more rain threatening the Super 4 contest between India and Pakistan, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul had his foot on the accelerator as the former vice-captain of the Men In Blue played a crucial knock on Tuesday. Playing his first match for Rohit Sharma and Co. after a long injury layoff, premier batter Rahul slammed a brilliant half-century against Babar Azam's men in match No.9 of the Asia Cup 2023 at the R Premadasa Stadium.

India's KL Rahul celebrates his century during the Super Fours match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023(ICC Twitter)

The 31-year-old had remained on the sidelines for almost four months after suffering a serious quadricep injury in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper then picked up a niggle which postponed his return to the group stage of the Asia Cup. Playing his first match after recovering from a niggle, Rahul joined forces with ex-skipper Virat Kohli to propel Team India to a challenging total.

After rain playing spoilsport in Colombo, Rahul and Kohli resumed India's innings against Pakistan on the reserve day of the Super 4 match at the Asia Cup. The versatile batter slammed his 14th half-century off 60 balls. Shifting gears in the rain-marred contest, Rahul paced his innings beautifully to complete a sensational return to the Indian team.

Comeback-man Rahul rewrites history at Asia Cup

The former India vice-captain slammed a match-altering century in 100 balls to rewrite history against Pakistan at the Asia Cup. With his sixth One Day International (ODI) century, Rahul has joined the star-studded list of batting icons Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. Only Rohit, Kohli, Sehwag, Dhawan and Rahul have scored a century against Pakistan in the 50-over edition of the Asia Cup. Former India skipper Kohli has the most ODI tons (2) against Pakistan in Asia Cup.

Talking about the match, comeback-man Rahul and in-form Kohli slammed centuries on the reserve day as India posted 356 for 2 against Pakistan in the Super 4 clash. This was the third time that India's No.3 and No.4 batters scored centuries in an ODI match. Rahul and Kohli also recorded the highest partnership in the ODI edition of the Asia Cup. The Indian batting duo put on an unbeaten stand of 233 runs at the R.Premadasa Stadium.