Pat Cummins responds after KL Rahul’s 6 off the last ball in Chennai. (Photo: AP)
Group India required 5 go to win off the last 54 balls and batter KL Rahul required 9 go to finish a well-deserved century in their opening match of the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 versus five-time world champs Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. The formula was easy, a 4 followed by a 6 would have sufficed for Rahul to reach a century.
What Rahul didn’t rely on was the timing on his extra-cover drive off Australia skipper Pat Cummins which simply cruised over the border. The Team India wicketkeeper-batter was left stranded on 97 not out as India won by 6 wickets with over 8 overs to extra leaving both Rahul and Cummins shell-shocked at the end of the match.
ENJOY KL Rahul’s spectacular 6 off Pat Cummins off the last ball HERE …
Rahul’s 97 not was the second-highest rating by an Indian wicketkeeper in an ODI World Cup match, exceeding MS Dhoni’s match-winning 91 not out worldwide Cup 2011 last versus Sri Lanka. Existing India head coach Rahul Dravid holds the record for greatest rating by an Indian wicketkeeper in a World Cup match– 145 versus Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup.
“Quite truthfully not a great deal of discussion, I believed I ‘d get a great shower and get a break. I was simply attempting to get my breath back. Virat (Kohli) stated there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a little aid for the pacers with the brand-new ball, and after that the spinners likewise,” Player of the Match KL Rahul stated after the video game in Chennai on Sunday.
“In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part which assisted a fair bit. The ball likewise skidded on much better. It was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the simplest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat. It was an excellent cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers. That’s what you get in the south of India, specifically Chennai,” he included.
Rahul exposed what it felt to fall couple of runs except a well-deserved century, stating, “I strike it too well, I simply computed how to get to a 100 in the end. The only method was a 4 and a 6, however no qualms on not getting to that hundred.”