"Saara mood kharab kardiya" - Fans erupt as Team India promote KL Rahul ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in IND vs SL 3rd ODI

India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was promoted ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, January 15.

The development came after Rahul produced a match-winning 64 off 103 balls in the second ODI, which India won by four wickets. Interestingly, the right-hander came to bat in his natural position after India lost Shreyas Iyer in the 46th over. He, however, departed after just seven runs off six balls.

Fans were stunned to witness KL Rahul being promoted ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the third ODI. Interestingly, Yadav too failed to finish off the innings. He departed for four runs off as many deliveries.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

I’m surprised to see KL coming out, I thought SKY’s gonna come. #INDvSL #SuryakumarYadav #sky #KLRahul

#INDvSL Love for KL Rahul is amazing, when u have someone like Suryakumar yadav, and we see KL Rahul being sent in the death overs..Guess Rahul Dravid loves "Rahul" the name over street smartness.
#KLRahul
#RahulDravid
#SuryakumarYadav

Why is KL Rahul sent ahead of SuryaKumar Yadav with less than 5 overs remaining in the innings?

#favouritism is shown in cricket like always. Ever captain has certain favorite player whome they will give chance irrespective of whether they perform or not

Unable to understand the logic behind sending #KLRahul before #SuryakumarYadav when only 4 overs left. #INDvSL

Suryakumar Yadav should have been sent in place of KL Rahul.
#SuryakumarYadav

KL Rahul now? What about SKY? Rahul is bit selfish 😏🤣 #INDvSL #SuryakumarYadav

Why is #KLRahul sent instead of #SuryakumarYadav ? So much politics in Indian Cricket. Such a shame

#SLvsIND

Kl Rahul ? 😐
Where is Surya ?🥴

#INDvSL #ViratKohli𓃵 #SuryakumarYadav https://t.co/lU469zAKKX

What’s point sending #KLRahul𓃵 ahead of #SuryakumarYadav here! #INDvSL

KL Rahul at No 5 in this situation when you have Suryakumar Yadav, why?
#INDvSL

#INDvSL Why not to send SKY when only 5 overs left. This is too much. NOW kl Rahul will use last 5 overs to settle on the pitch.

#RohitSharma𓃵 #SuryakumarYadav #BCCI #KLRahul𓃵

It’s worth mentioning that Suryakumar Yadav scored 112 off 51 balls in the third T20I against Sri Lanka, which India won by a mammoth 91 runs.

KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav fail but Virat Kohli puts on a show in IND vs SL 3rd ODI

Virat Kohli produced a spectacular knock against Sri Lanka in the third ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The Delhi batter hit his 46th ODI ton as India posted 390/5 in their allotted 50 overs. The 34-year-old scored an unbeaten 166 off 110 deliveries at a strike rate of 150.91, including 13 boundaries and eight sixes.

Innings Break!

A stupendous knock of 166* from @imVkohli & a fine 116 by @ShubmanGill guides #TeamIndia to a formidable total of 390/5.

Scorecard - bit.ly/INDvSL-2023-3R… #INDvSL @mastercardindia https://t.co/aGHQU7PQVw

Earlier, Gill scored 116 off 97 deliveries, including two sixes and 14 boundaries. India captain Rohit Sharma also contributed 42 runs and shared a decent 95-run partnership with Gill for the opening wicket.

Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara were the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka as they bagged two wickets each. Meanwhile, Chamika Karunaratne also took a solitary wicket.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will now look to win their third ODI and complete a 3-0 whitewash against The Lions.

The Men in Blue will next play the white-ball series against New Zealand at home. The first of the three-match ODI series will kick off in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18.