KL Rahul: India's next big batting sensation has arrived
A packed house at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida got all their money worth on Saturday as they witnessed a truly entertaining game of T20 cricket which broke the record for the highest number of runs scored and sixes hit in a T20 international match. Indian skipper MS Dhoni also broke a record as he became the most experienced international captain leading the Men in Blue for the 325th time across all formats.
Dhoni almost made it a memorable occasion playing a little cameo during the Indian run-chase but was left undone by a slower ball from Chennai Super Kings teammate Dwayne Bravo as held out at short third man giving the West Indies a win by a solitary run.
Devastating for Dhoni and the huge number of Indian fans that flocked to the stadium prompting West Indies skipper Carlos Brathwaite to wonder whom the home team really was but the one player that would have felt the shock of the defeat more than anyone else would be KL Rahul.
KL Rahul Has Taken Just 20 Innings To Complete Century In All 3 Formats - That's Fastest By Any Player In The World. #IndvsWI #WIvIND #T20
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) August 28, 2016
The 24-year-old Mangalore-born cricketer played a gem of innings to almost take India over the line in what seemed an improbable run chase to begin with, especially after the dismissal of India’s ‘chase-master’ Virat Kohli. Set an indomitable target of 246 runs, India started off brightly no doubt but when Kohli headed back to the pavilion, Anil Kumble’s men still needed 198 runs in 15.2 overs at a required rate of 12.23.
Rahul was undeterred though by the task at hand and went about his batting with ruthless aggression. Joining hands with the much experienced Rohit Sharma and later his skipper, the youngster went hammer and tongs on the batsman-friendly surface but what stood out was his clean hitting that has held him in such good stead in the other formats as well. He hit a staggering 12 boundaries and 5 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 112 from just 51 balls.
He brought up his three-figure mark off just 46 balls to take him to second place on the list of fastest centuries in T20Is along with South Africa’s Faf du Plessis. By scoring a century in the shortest format of the game, Rahul became only the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of the game behind Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma and considering that he has achieved the feat with just 20 innings at the highest level of the game – none of which have come on home soil – is truly remarkable.
The brilliant final over from Bravo might have left Rahul devastated as he could only watch in despair from the other end but he has well and truly sealed his reputation as India’s next big batting sensation.
A debut to forget but Rahul quickly made amends
Consistent performances in the domestic circuit have been a key to Rahul’s rise in Indian cricket. But he did not have it easy making a false start more often than not before truly showing his class. What better statement to certify the above claim than Rahul’s boyhood coach Jayaraj Samuel’s comments regarding his first impression of the budding cricketer.
“When we first saw him, he was not that impressive, but he had the commitment,” Jayaraj said in an interview. “His hard work and efforts will lead him to the goal he wants to reach.”
Having represented India at the 2010 Under-19 World cup before making his first-class debut for Karnataka in the 2010-11 season, Rahul impressed with his performances for Bangalore Brigadiers in the Karnataka Premier League.
It was the 2013 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament that shot Rahul to prominence. Having scored 250 runs, he was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise ahead of the 2013 IPL but failed to make any impact making a meagre 20 runs from 5 matches.
Also read: How Dwayne Bravo outwitted MS Dhoni and KL Rahul in the last over of the India-West Indies T20I
The disappointment didn’t hinder Rahul though as he continued his consistent performances for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy before the big break followed in the final of the 2013-14 Duleep Trophy that saw Rahul 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 balls in the second for South Zone against Central Zone. Just like on Saturday, Rahul ended up on the losing side but that match prompted the Indian selectors to name him in the Indian Test squad that was set to tour Australia in late 2014.
The big day came at the daunting Melbourne Cricket Ground when Rahul got the Indian Test cap from MS Dhoni as he was selected in favour of Rohit Sharma for the Boxing Day match. It turned out to be a tale of horror as he failed miserably in both innings with Rahul himself terming it a “nightmare debut.” He, however, got the chance to redeem himself in the Sydney Test and he passed the Test with flying colours scoring a magnificent century and a star was born.