Team India had reason to be delighted as beleaguered opener KL Rahul finally hit form in his fourth game of the T20 World Cup 2022. Rahul brought up his 22nd T20 international fifty off only 31 balls to get his side off to a flyer after the early dismissal of his skipper Rohit Sharma against Bangladesh in their Super 12 match at Adelaide on Wednesday.
Rahul gave early signs of hitting form after hitting a sizzling six over mid-wicket off Shoriful Islam. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper, who only had single digit scores before the match against Bangladesh carried on from there smashing Hasan Mahmud for a six and a four in the fourth over of the game.
The opener added a couple of more sixes in the 9th over of the innings bowled by Shoriful Islam, in an over in which the Bangladeshi pacer conceded 24 runs in the over. Rahul went on to complete the fifth fifty of the year 2022, but was dismissed off the very next ball by Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan.
In spite of a prolonged form slump, Rahul has scored 378 runs in 14 games this year at an average of 29.07. Overall, Rahul averages 38.08 after 70 T20I games, scoring 2209 runs with 2 hundreds and 21 fifties.
Here’s how the fans reacted after KL Rahul’s fifty…
KL Rahul at Sunil Shetty's house after T20 worldcup. pic.twitter.com/I2uCvG7Y16
— Sai Teja (@csaitheja) November 2, 2022
#klrahul #t20worldcup pic.twitter.com/nTzP0dzA4O
— Perssi (@b_sailesh_) November 2, 2022
Well Played, KL!#Cricket #T20WorldCup #INDvBAN #IndianCricket #KLRahul #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/ICsjtIGpwM
— Jega8 (@imBK08) November 2, 2022
KL Rahul finally _#INDvsBAN #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/nTu9p8mIVz
— _____ __ (@t4_twitt) November 2, 2022
Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid had put his faith in Rahul ahead of this crucial tie against Bangladesh. “I think he’s a fantastic player and he’s got a proven track record. He’s done really well. I thought he’s been batting superbly. These things can happen in a T20 game sometimes. It’s been a tough – it’s not been that easy for the sort of top order batsmen. This tournament has been pretty challenging,” Dravid said in the pre-match press conference in Adelaide.
“In these conditions, maybe we are able to afford him that time, and like I said, to answer the question, we completely back him. We have no concerns about him. We know that when he gets going, and I’ve seen it against Australia, against a top-class attack just a couple of weeks ago, I know the impact this guy can make. I think in Rohit’s and my mind, there's absolutely no doubt about who's going to open for us,” Dravid said about KL Rahul.
