How KL Rahul has staked his claim to be the long-term opener for India in limited overs cricket
It was the 16th of June 2019. India were taking on arch rivals Pakistan in probably the most anticipated match of the biggest event in the sport - the World Cup.
India’s regular opener Shikhar Dhawan had injured himself in the previous game against Australia and had been ruled out of the entire multi nation event. So India promoted the yet untested KL Rahul to the opener's slot.
The youngster responded with a responsible 57, and put on a 136-run opening stand with vice-captain Rohit Sharma. It was his first outing as opener in Indian colours, and he had succeeded at the most crucial time.
Over the next two innings Rahul continued to flourish, with scores of 30 and 48 respectively. Then in the game against Sri Lanka, Rahul scored his first hundred as opener, milking a sedate 111 which helped India thrash Sri Lanka by 7 wickets.
Now with the West Indies visiting the Indian shores for a limited overs series, Rahul first blasted 164 runs in the three-match T20 series. He looked completely at home in company with Rohit, and gave the team solid starts at the top of the order.
The youngster has now yet again stamped his authority by scoring his first hundred on home soil in ODI cricket. His spectacular 102 against the West Indies in the second ODI yesterday may have been overshadowed by Rohit's 159, but it was no less important.
With this innings, Rahul may have well staked his claim to be the long-term opener for India going into the future.
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Dhawan was injured midway during the World Cup, and since then the left-hander has struggled in whatever chances that he has got. In the three-match ODI series against the West Indies in August post the World Cup Dhawan had scores of 2 and 36, and in the T20 series against the West Indies, he had scores of 1, 23 and 3. Barring two 40-odd scores against South Africa and Bangladesh respectively, Dhawan has not been in the best of form.
With Dhawan injured now too, Rahul has got another opportunity against the Windies, and he has grabbed the chance with both hands. He and Rohit have created a formidable partnership at the top, and the sight of both of them hammering boundaries at will is bound to make any opposition lineup worried.
With the build-up for the T20 World Cup next year already gathering steam, Rahul might have just made a strong claim to the team management that investing in him for the long term would be worthwhile in the limited overs format of the game.