"Upar wala jab hai na bahar koi kuch bhi bole"- Suniel Shetty reacts after KL Rahul's match-winning knock against Australia in 1st ODI
Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty recently took a dig at KL Rahul's harsh critics after the batter hit a match-winning 75* against Australia in the first ODI on Friday in Mumbai.
KL Rahul walked to the crease and played a well-composed innings when Team India were reeling under pressure at 16/3 in a tricky chase of 189. Mitchell Starc was on a rampage after dismissing Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav of successive balls before Rahul arrived.
Rahul successfully managed to weather the storm and absorbed the pressure to add 44 runs for the fourth wicket with Hardik Pandya. He then constructed a sensible 108-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (45*) to see India home in the chase in 39.5 overs.
Rahul has received a lot of flak over the past few months on Twitter and other platforms from critics and fans for his poor form in Test cricket. In a video shared by a Twitter user (Kunal Yadav), KL Rahul's father-in-law, Suniel Shetty, reacted to the outside noise after his magnificent knock and said, when god is with you, whatever outsiders say doesn't matter.
"Upar wala jab hai na bahar koi kuch bhi bole."
#INDvAUSSuniel Shetty sir's reaction on KL Rahul's match winning knock! 🙌 #INDvAUS https://t.co/3ES0eTQZhw
"The talk was not really getting into the shell"- KL Rahul on gameplan during 75* in 1st ODI
Speaking at the post-match presentation after the 1st ODI on Friday, KL Rahul revealed that his game plan was to keep the scoreboard ticking and not go into a shell even though wickets kept falling around him. He also opined that sticking to normal cricketing shots worked for him on the day under pressure.
"When I came in, three wickets were down and Starc was swinging the ball, it's tough when he does that. Not really thinking about the runs, just wanted to play normal cricket shots and not searching for runs and along with that picked up a couple of boundaries and that helped calm my nerves.
"Whoever I batted with, Shubman, Hardik and Jadeja. The talk was not really getting into the shell, just try to be positive and try to keep the scoreboard moving. The minute left-hander walked in, there were loose balls on offer, that can happen to any bowler but Jaddu batted well, runs fast and puts the pressure on the fielders."
India and Australia will square off in the second ODI of the 3-match series in Vizag on Sunday (March 19).