"Now, KL Rahul cemented his place for another 10 years" - Twitterati react as wicketkeeper-batter guides India to victory in IND vs SL 2nd ODI

KL Rahul shone for Team India in the second ODI of their three-match series against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, January 12.

Coming in at 86/4, the wicketkeeper-batter stayed till the end to ensure India won by four wickets. He scored 64 off 103 balls, including six fours. The No. 5 batter also shared a pivotal 75-run partnership with vice-captain Hardik Pandya for the fifth wicket to recover the team from 86/4.

BCCI

@BCCI

FIFTY!

A gritty half-century by @klrahul as he brings up his 12th ODI half-century

Live - bit.ly/INDvSL-2023-2N… #INDvSL
@mastercardindia

3488

167

FIFTY!

A gritty half-century by @klrahul as he brings up his 12th ODI half-century 👏

Live - bit.ly/INDvSL-2023-2N… #INDvSL
@mastercardindia https://t.co/ePUQABti4M

The 30-year-old earlier scored 39 runs in the first ODI, which India won by 67 runs.

Fans were delighted to witness KL Rahul lead Team India to victory, while some users were unfazed by the one-off match-winning performance.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

Ïmpãçt_ÍÑLÍÑĒ●●●

@well_left_for_4

@CricCrazyJohns Magnificent from kL RAHUL this time

@CricCrazyJohns Magnificent from kL RAHUL this time 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Gowda Gs

@GowdaGs7

Clam and Klassy 50* #KLRahul 🏼🏼🏼

3

Clam and Klassy 50* #KLRahul ♥️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Jeet Vachharajani🏏

@Jeetv27

The match situation was tailor-made for KL Rahul's style of play in white-ball cricket.

5

1

The match situation was tailor-made for KL Rahul's style of play in white-ball cricket.

memes_hallabol

@memes_hallabol

KL Rahul at no 5 Today.
#INDvSL

7

1

KL Rahul at no 5 Today.
#INDvSL https://t.co/7U7XOwtfwV

ΝΘᏴᏆͲᎪ🇮🇳🚩❤️💯

@RoFanBoy45200

Calm & composed fifty from KL Rahul
#KLRahul
#INDvsSL

28

3

Calm & composed fifty from KL Rahul 👏
#KLRahul
#INDvsSL https://t.co/sUHv58tWqj

arun

@SmnArun

@StarSportsIndia @klrahul Useless test batsman gets a test match situation to bail the team out.

KL Pujara Rahul innings.

@StarSportsIndia @klrahul Useless test batsman gets a test match situation to bail the team out.

KL Pujara Rahul innings. 😂😂😂

Mritunjay Dubey

@mddubey409

Another stat-padding masterclass by #KLRahul. ❣️

In case you missed it, your loss. Won't be posting any clips. #CricketTwitter twitter.com/randomcricfact…

ParteekNotPrateek

@randomcricfacts

Agar kisi ne KL Rahul ki innings ko statpadding bola toh khair nahi uski #INDvsSL

3

Agar kisi ne KL Rahul ki innings ko statpadding bola toh khair nahi uski #INDvsSL

Another stat-padding masterclass by #KLRahul. ❣️

In case you missed it, your loss. Won't be posting any clips. #CricketTwitter twitter.com/randomcricfact…

Sourabh jha 🇮🇳

@Sourabh_jha18

@BCCI @klrahul @mastercardindia Aaj gaali nahi padegi bhai

1

@BCCI @klrahul @mastercardindia Aaj gaali nahi padegi bhai 💗💗💗

Raghav

@TheRaghavvvv

@hoosier_ddaddyy Good knock under pressure #KLRahul𓃵

2

@hoosier_ddaddyy Good knock under pressure #KLRahul𓃵

Lucky

@Lucky19011649

@BCCI @klrahul @mastercardindia Now, Rahul cemented his place for another 10 years.

@BCCI @klrahul @mastercardindia Now, Rahul cemented his place for another 10 years.

Ben Gardner

@Ben_Wisden

Is this the kind of innings KL Rahul meant when he said strike rates are over-rated?

79

2

Is this the kind of innings KL Rahul meant when he said strike rates are over-rated?

RAKSHIT

@Imrakshit45

Ms dhoni level innings from kl rahul... Came when team was collapsing and single handedly finsishing... Still people will criticize him... Where they celebrated dhoni

2

Ms dhoni level innings from kl rahul... Came when team was collapsing and single handedly finsishing... Still people will criticize him... Where they celebrated dhoni 😭

KL Rahul credited the bowlers for restricting Sri Lanka to a below-par score of 215. He also expressed gratitude after his fighting knock.

Speaking to Star Sports post-match, Rahul said:

“I won't say it was a flat wicket, but I can't say it was impossible to bat as well. It was quite a sporty wicket. When we started, I thought it was a 280-300 wicket. It wasn't moving much, spongy bounce. Apart from that, there was not much. We bowled really well to get them out for 215.”

He added:

“The start was brisk from the openers. They (Sri Lanka) put up a good fight. Got the early breakthroughs and put us under pressure. Challenging game, we can be proud of the way we fought.”

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KL Rahul was the top-scorer for India in the second ODI vs Sri Lanka

While KL Rahul top-scored for India, Hardik Pandya scored a crucial 36 runs. Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Axar Patel also scored in the 20s.

Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne bagged two wickets each for Sri Lanka, while Kasun Rajitha and Dhananjaya de Silva scalped one wicket each.

Earlier in the day, Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first. The visitors were bundled out for 215 in 39.4 overs. Debutant Nuwanidu Fernando top-scored with 50. Kusal Mendis and Dunith Wellalage scored 34 and 32 runs, respectively. Meanwhile, Avishka Fernando and Wanindu Hasaranga contributed in the 20s.

For India, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj scalped three wickets each, while Umran Malik dismissed a couple of batters. Axar Patel also picked up a wicket.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will next be seen in action in the third ODI against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, January 15.

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