3 early KL Rahul knocks that showed he was a batting great in the making
KL Rahul is celebrating his 31st birthday today and has received wishes from all across the cricketing fraternity. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain is one of India's top batters across formats and has even captained the Indian national team in both red and white-ball cricket.
KL Rahul is one of the most "pleasing to the eye" batters in world cricket. He is a team player and has been willing to adapt his game as per the team's requirements, as evident in his successful shift from the opening spot in ODI cricket to batting at No. 5.
Despite his recent struggles in Test cricket, Rahul is one of the few Indian openers to have scored hundreds in England, Australia, and South Africa. He is the fastest batter to score centuries in all three formats (20 innings) in international cricket. He even won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020.
On that note, let's discuss three early KL Rahul knocks that showed he was a batting great in the making:
#1 India vs Australia, 4th Test, 2015 - KL Rahul (110 off 262 balls)
Australia declared at 572/7 in the first innings of the fourth test, having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A young KL Rahul, who was playing in just his second test match, opened the innings for India against an Australian bowling unit comprising Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Shane Watson, Ryan Harris, and Nathan Lyon.
KL Rahul (110 runs off 262 balls) struck a high-quality century in Sydney to give India a solid start that was needed while chasing such a huge first innings score. The youngster impressed everyone with his excellent technique, patience, and composure. Rahul's efforts ensured that India salvaged a fighting draw.
#2 India vs England, 1st T20I, 2018 - KL Rahul (101* off 54 balls)
Chasing 160, KL Rahul came into bat after the early dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan. Against a quality English attack at the Manchester Cricket Stadium, Rahul thrashed the English attack all around the park, taking the bowlers to the cleaners. The youngster struck 10 fours and five sixes as he completed his century at a strike rate of 187.04. The most astonishing feature of his batting was his ability to score at such a high strike-rate while playing orthodox shots. India won the match by eight wickets with 10 balls to spare.
#3 India vs England, 5th Test, 2018 - KL Rahul (149 off 224 balls)
Chasing a target of 464 runs in the fourth innings on a tricky track at the Oval, India were in all sorts of trouble at 2/3 with Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli back in the dressing room in the third session of Day 4.
India needed to bat an entire day against an English attack comprising James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, and Moeen Ali. Rahul's spectacular knock, in which he hit 20 fours and 1 six, along with Rishabh Pant's hundred, gave India hope of an unlikely win.
In a knock of supreme quality and class, Rahul seemed like he was batting on another pitch altogether, and it took an unplayable delivery by Adil Rashid to dismiss him. The Indian batting line-up collapsed after his dismissal, handing England the win with only a few overs remaining to save the game.