Ind vs Eng 2nd ODI: KL Rahul answers his critics with a splendid hundred

Ind vs Eng 2nd ODI: KL Rahul silenced his critics with a splendid hundred on Friday in the second ODI between India and England.

The 28-year-old after going through a lean phase in T20Is returned to form in the first ODI where he scored 62 off 43 balls to help India reach a big total. But even more was store in the second ODI as the Karnataka batsman scored a splendid hundred, his fifth in ODIs.

Rahul had to perform a slight rescue job today as India lost both their openers early. Coming in at 37/2, the right-hander steadied the ship and batted with caution. Both Kohli and Rahul milked the bowling in the middle overs when the spin duo of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were in action.

He built a 121-run partnership with captain Virat Kohli before the Indian skipper was dismissed by Rashid. Rahul then added 113 runs with Rishabh Pant for the fifth wicket with the wicketkeeper-batsman playing aggressively and his senior partner holding one end up strongly.

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By the time the centurion was dismissed, the stage was already set for a big score. He ended up with a personal score of 108 off 114 balls ane was out to Reece Topley in the 45th over.

KL Rahul on his celebration: “It’s self-explanatory. To shut the noise. No disrespect, but there are people out there who will try to pull you down and criticize!”

KL Rahul on his celebration:

"It's self-explanatory. To shut the noise. No disrespect, but there are people out there who will try to pull you down and criticize!" #INDvENG #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #CaptainPunjab

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 26, 2021

This was the only fifth instance of an Indian No.4 batsman scoring a ton in ODIs since 2015.

Manish Pandey v Aus, Sydney, 2016

Yuvraj Singh v Eng, Cuttack, 2017

A Rayudu v WI, Mumbai, 2018

S Iyer v NZ, Hamilton, 2010

KL Rahul v Eng, Pune, 2021*

The right-handed batsman had said, after his knock in the first ODI, that it was just a matter of time before he returned to form.

“If there was a real issue with my batting, then I probably would have been a little under-confident, scoring runs is important and it is everything for a player but for me, I also look at myself at training. If I am preparing well and I am hitting the ball well, my mind is in the right place. Most of the things were going well, just the number chart was not going my way, which is disappointing. When I open the batting, the team looks up to the openers to give them a solid start and score runs, but it never impacted my confidence,” he said during the pre-match conference ahead of the second T20I between India and England.

Rahul was out of form in the T20I series against England as he scored just 15 runs in four matches and because of this, he was even dropped for the fifth and final T20I. But the batsman was given a chance in the first ODI and he made full use of the opportunity as he hit an unbeaten 62 to guide India’s score past the 300-run mark. Anil Kumble and Punjab Kings management would be happy to see their captain return to for ahead of IPL 2021 season.

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“I was confident, for a player to come this far, it’s only self-belief that gets him this far. I have always been confident on who I am as a player and who I am as a person. It was never an issue of confidence and self-belief. Like I said, sometimes it’s sport, you try everything that is possible and which is in your control, still it does not go your way. So you accept it and try to learn from the mistakes you have done. I was always confident, I knew in the nets and the practice sessions, I was batting well.”

Further elaborating on his recent form, Rahul said: “Everybody goes through this, I did not do anything different. I was not too stressed, as a player, you are disappointed. Sitting on the bench for a while, I did not play for 3-3.5 months so I was really excited about playing the white-ball series. Every player in the team wants to do well, sometimes it does not happen, you have to accept it.

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“I asked myself if I prepared well, and when I thought about it, I did everything right, after that, if I did not score runs, then it’s fine, I accept that. Having said that, it does not mean that you do not feel disappointed. When you are playing at this level, you always want to perform, but you need to accept that it is not always going to go your way. When things were going right, I did not question my process so I did not want to sit back and overthink after four-five bad performances, I was doing most things right which was in my control,” he added.

IPL 2021: Why is KL Rahul so important for Punjab Kings?

Rahul has been PBKS’ best batsman since 2018. His scores in last three years have been 659, 593, and 670. He was in hot form last year amassing an impressive 670 runs in games. His opening partnership with Mayank Agarwal was the best in IPL 2020.

Batting and Fielding	Mat	No	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	CT	ST
Career	81	13	2647	132*	44.86	1,949	135.81	2	21	234	104	39	5
2020	14	2	670	132*	55.83	518	129.34	1	5	58	23	10	0
2019	14	3	593	100*	53.90	438	135.38	1	6	49	25	7	0
2018	14	2	659	95*	54.91	416	158.41	0	6	66	32	10	1

The duo scored 1094 in total. Furthermore, Rahul was very impressive behind the stumps too. His flexible approach and switching gears at will reflected throughout the tournament.

Anil Kumble and PBKS team management would be happy to see their captain return to form.

Here’s the full PK Squad for IPL 2021:

KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen , Saurabh Kumar.

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