In a chase of 265, Rahul came out to bat at No. 6, at the fall of Axar Patel’s wicket. Axar and Virat Kohli had added 44 off 52 balls for the fourth wicket but India still needed 87 off 90 balls. Rahul stitched handy partnerships with Kohli and Hardik Pandya and saw India home with an unbeaten 42 off 34 balls.
“He [Rahul] should have come ahead of Axar Patel,” Kumble said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. “I know Axar did a good job of getting that partnership with Virat Kohli but someone like KL Rahul coming in at that stage and this is what he can do – if he gets to 30, he will ensure that you cross the line. He does that and he does that consistently. Yes, he missed out on one opportunity in the last game against New Zealand, but otherwise KL is a class act. This will certainly give him a lot of confidence.
“There is a lot of pressure on him. If he does well, it’s expected. If he fails even in one innings, suddenly the whole world comes after him. He was under pressure, even with his keeping in the last game, but today he showed what he is capable of.”
“Sometimes we wonder if little time is good for KL Rahul, because then he is only thinking of attacking,” Manjrekar said. “Today he wanted to take the onus of attacking. And when he plays attacking shots, then he looks like the player… I have rarely seen KL Rahul play an innings where he is playing steadily, ones and twos, grafting and getting a hundred and winning a game, like Virat Kohli does. So maybe down the order in a way suits him.
“I am so happy for him. This is a guy who is so sensitive. You can see that every mistake he makes or every batting failure he has just plays on his mind. I don’t know him well. Anil knows him better obviously. But he seems like a nice guy and India want him to be part of the playing XI. So this kind of an innings… at the end of the game, he was a happy man.”
