More than a finisher: KL Rahul's unbeaten 112 strengthens case for bigger middle-overs role

RAJKOT: KL Rahul effortlessly deposited Kyle Jamieson’s low full-toss over the long-on boundary to bring up his first ODI century since the 2023 World Cup.

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There was no exaggerated celebration after he had bailed India out of a tricky situation against an impeccably disciplined New Zealand attack. He calmly took off his helmet and made a gesture mimicking his 10-month-old daughter nibbling her fingers. He was a man in complete control of his game.




Rahul’s 11-year-old career across formats has been chaotic. He has never been far away from the scheme of things, yet forever unsure of his role in the team. He has gone up and down the batting order frequently just to be accommodated in the playing XI. Having battled this chaos, he may have finally discovered calm as a wicketkeeper batting at No. 5 — at the same venue where he was first tried in this role almost six years ago. On Jan 17, 2020, he scored 80 off 52 balls against Australia after Rishabh Pant suffered a concussion in the previous game.

Wednesday’s unbeaten 112 off 92 balls was everything his cricket has been about over the last 12 months: assured and underlined by clarity. The team management decided to deviate from their left-hander-at-No. 5 theory and let Rahul walk in at that position in the 22nd over, with the batting looking shaky on a relatively sluggish pitch. That Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t exactly been in prime form may have played a part in the decision.


Under the blazing sun in Rajkot, Rahul’s bat radiated class and his demeanour oozed confidence. Here was a soon-to-be 34-year-old reminding the world of his long-hyped capabilities. Responsibility sat comfortably on his shoulders. The knock was simple, bereft of any modern-day flamboyance, but it wasn’t dour. It was almost as if Rahul was adamant on proving old-school batting still has a place in ODIs, even in the final overs of an innings.

With 11 fours and a solitary six, Rahul never fell behind the scoring rate. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s evident edginess may have stopped India from going on the offensive, but Rahul’s mastery in playing the field was reminiscent of a classic ODI innings from a bygone era.

Be it rotating the strike or farming it when he batted with Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj, Rahul was keyed in.

After scoring a Test hundred at Lord’s last year, Rahul was upfront in saying that he was most comfortable opening the innings. He had rediscovered his Test batting only when the team management secured the opening slot for him. Now, batting at No. 5 in ODIs doesn’t seem too dissimilar — if only the team management can provide him more time in the middle and not with the batting order too much.

Rahul has put in a lot of work to establish his place in the XI. He has consulted specialists linked to Formula One to fine-tune his reflexes and reaction times, besides bringing a greater calm to his cricket. It’s over to the team management now to maximise his dream run.

• 112* - KL Rahul’s eighth century in ODIs is his second vs NZ — the first being 112 in Mount Maunganui on Feb 11, 2020. These two innings are his career-best in ODIs.
• 64.21 - Rahul’s average as a No. 5 batter while making 1477 runs, including three centuries and 10 fifties in 33 innings (10 times unbeaten) in ODIs.

(Stats — Rajesh Kumar)


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