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‘Pushing Rahul below Axar, Jadeja a cardinal sin’: Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill reminded 'KL is Rolls Royce'
Walking in at No. 5, Rahul absorbed the pressure after the quick dismissals of in-form Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli, as he went onto hit a brilliant century.
KL Rahul once again proved his value in testing circumstances, producing a composed century in the Rajkot ODI against New Zealand. The 33-year-old remained unbeaten on 112, anchoring the innings at a time when India desperately needed stability. Walking in at No. 5, Rahul absorbed the pressure after the quick dismissals of in-form Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli. With other batters unable to convert starts, the wicketkeeper-batter took responsibility, paced his knock intelligently and ensured India had a competitive total to defend.
Rahul’s innings was built more on control than brute force. He struck just one six, which brought up his century, and found the fence 11 times during his 92-ball stay at the crease. Showing calm and clarity till the end, he signed off with a boundary as India closed their innings on a competitive 284 for 7 in 50 overs.
Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh highlighted the value of Rahul’s role in the middle order, pointing out how the batter’s composure, shot range and ability to control the tempo make him ideally suited to the No. 5 position in ODIs.
"This is why I was always harping about having KL Rahul at no 5, in the ODIs. KL knows to pace the inns well, and has all the shots in his armoury to go all-out in the death," Ganesh wrote on X.
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Meanwhile, Rahul has recently been pushed down to number six, a move Ganesh described as ‘a cardinal sin’, adding that the wicketkeeper-batter is a ‘Rolls Royce’ who needs to be used wisely to get the best out of him.
“Pushing him to no 6, below Axar/Jadeja, is going to be a cardinal sin. KL is Rolls-Royce. Use him #INDvNZ,” he added.
KL Rahul takes onus on himself
Earlier, captain Shubman Gill struck 56 before India suffered a short wobble, after which Rahul steadied the innings with Ravindra Jadeja in a vital 73-run stand for the fifth wicket. Rahul, unbeaten on 112, brought up his eighth ODI hundred in just 87 balls by launching Kyle Jamieson for a six, pausing briefly to soak in the applause from the stands. With Nitish Kumar Reddy (20) in row, Rahul added another 57 for the sixth wicket before the comeback all-rounder too fell for a slow, short ball from Zak Foulkes.
