Calm in the face of terror has been the hallmark of some of cricket’s greatest-ever talents, a list in which KL Rahul surely belongs even if the numbers don’t necessarily say so. On Monday, the Gabba saw another glimpse of his mega potential when he smoked a boundary immediately after a rain break.
India collapsed fatally on a start-stop Day 3 in Brisbane and were left stranded at 48/4 while pursuing the hosts’ mammoth first innings total of 445. None of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, or Rishabh Pant managed to breach double digits before being claimed by one of the ‘Big Three’ Oz pacers. KL Rahul proved to be the only saving grace for the Men in Blue with his acute control and soft-handed strokes taking him to 30 despite the bounce and movement on offer at the deck. The makeshift opener tried his best to set the tone for the team every time rain forced them off and broke the rhythm, the latest of which was the most resounding.
Rain interrupted the innings for a third time at the end of 13 overs with the score 39/3 and when the contingents walked back out after a few minutes, it was Pat Cummins bowling to Rahul. The Aussie skipper floated a full delivery wide outside off, a strategy that has been a great success for his team in the game already, but Rahul was quick to read his counterpart’s intentions. The Karnataka batter took a confident stride forward, pushed his elbow forward and met the Kookaburra with the middle of his willow to send it racing through the covers. Despite the moist outfield, the red cherry showed no signs of stopping until it thumped into the Toblerones on the ropes to add four runs to Rahul’s tally.
Twitterati was enthralled by the stroke and quickly took to social media to express their admiration for the sheer elegance on display.
What a shot!
The only one
There was a time when we used to criticise KL Rahul only from the XI and now, KL Rahul is the only batsman who is not getting any criticism. How time changes.😂
— Bhawana (@cricbhawana) December 16, 2024
At what point do we start considering KL Rahul’s cover drive when we speak of best cover drivers in the world?
#INDvsAUS #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/Hw0OJJtRZs— kuki tanwani (@kukitanwani2) December 16, 2024
Grilled
I will be grilled for this opinion but KL Rahul is the only batsman in our team who has the most accomplished techniques for a test player.
Kohli has that magic but he is now a forgotten chapter.
Rest of other players are Modern cricketers who is banking on T20 techniques.— Abey Kuruwila 3.0 🎭 (@kuruwila) December 16, 2024
Disturbance
Whenever KL Rahul looks pretty rain disturb him
Though beautiful shots and stable inning till now 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tAmOc4jPBM— Bhushan kanherkar (@bhushi_m_k) December 16, 2024
Kl Rahul Batting with 2 openers from Jaiswal to Rohit 🤧#INDvsAUS #RohitSharma #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/JrxPFoYah8
— Abhi9 (@abhi09g) December 16, 2024
The only team
India is the only team where scoring a century earns you an extra two years in the squad, and a single knock of 60 guarantees you five more Tests and someone else’s batting position.#KLRahul #INDvsAUS #INDvAUS
— R (@RudeDudeRahul) December 16, 2024
Goat
Goat KL Rahul again saving india
pic.twitter.com/hDqg77WzeC— KL BASIT (@klbasit1) December 16, 2024
You only miss the ☀️when it starts❄️❄️ now people will get to know how Great ur are..!!!
GO well KL Rahul…#INDvsAUS #BorderGavaskarTrophy #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/zbs5qiJEvj— 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 (@ImEdward18) December 16, 2024
Start stop
The start stop nature of the game doesn’t help at all. This is irritating for batters more than bowlers. KL Rahul is rightly disappointed. pic.twitter.com/SSPiJ2kC34
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) December 16, 2024
