India bounced back pretty well in the second ODI against Australia in Rajkot on the back of some brilliant batting show by Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul. However, it was Rahul who took the limelight away from others. With Kohli back to his usual batting position and Rishabh Pant out of the game due to concussion, KL Rahul moved to number 5 in the batting position, as well as, kept the wicket as well.
The Karnataka opener not only scored a blistering 52-ball-80 with a few big hits but also did a quickfire stumping which dismissed Australia captain Aaron Finch. However, after the game, Kohli praised the opener for his brilliant batting who earned the Player-of-the-Match award as well.
“When you see how KL was batting today, it’s very difficult to leave someone like that out. Batting at No. 5 and batting like that for the team, this is probably the best he’s played at an international level,” Virat Kohli said at the presentation ceremony. “That knocked showed maturity and class.”
Virat Kohli, who came back to his usual No 3 spot, and amassed 78 said that the issue regarding the batting order did not affect further.
“We know exactly what we’re doing in the change room. On the outside, there’s a lot of panics that we don’t really focus on. We live in the days of social media and a panic button being pressed too early,” said Kohli.
However, Kohli praised Shikhar Dhawan’s batting as well who missed his century by mere 4 runs.
“In ODI cricket, Shikhar has been one of our most consistent performers. I’m very happy that he scored runs as well. It always augurs well when he and Rohit score runs. I asked Rohit briefly just now. It’s that left shoulder that has popped out a few times. There’s no tear so hopefully, he should be back for the next game,” he added.
