Team India wicketkeeper KL Rahul made a comeback from thigh injury in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match against Pakistan on Sunday. Over the course of 2 days, Rahul notched up his 6th ODI century, smashing 111 off 106 balls with 2 sixes and 12 fours and put on a record 233 runs in India’s 228-run win over Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.
Rahul is now getting ready to play his second ODI in two days as India take on Sri Lanka in their second Super 4 match in Colombo on Tuesday. In an exclusive conversation with Star Sports, KL Rahul opened up about his remarkable return to the international cricket scene.
Rahul, who displayed exceptional prowess by scoring his 6th ODI century, shared insights into his experience on the field, including the initial nervousness, the impact of the weather-interrupted match, and the exhilarating partnership with Virat Kohli, who also reached a century milestone during their unbeaten partnership.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, Team India batter KL Rahul spoke on his return to the team and how he got into his stride to score his 6th ODI century, he said, “Obviously, this is my first international match after a long time. I played a couple of practice games, but we all know the intensity is not the same. So when I walked in, I had that initial nervousness. It took me 10-15 balls to just calm myself down and get my feet moving, get my mind thinking of the right things.
“Then, when I hit one or two boundaries, all those things, the fogginess in your clarity, went away, and it became like before. I was looking at the ball, looking at the situation, and you see what you have to do. But just when I got my rhythm, it started raining. Unfortunately, it started raining, and I had to wait for a whole day. Today we came back and had to wait for the innings to start. So I had to restart the innings again. So, again, the first 10-15 balls were sort of nervy, and after that, once you start playing, once you start to hit a few balls in the middle, you forget about those things, and then you start thinking about where you can score runs and what I have to do. So, yeah, that’s how I felt, and that doesn’t happen too often when you play for a continuous period of time,” Rahul said after the match on Monday.
Hats off to the dynamic duo, @imVkohli and @klrahul , both bringing up their centuries in a jaw-dropping partnership that defines excellence! _ Pure cricketing magic at its best! _ #indvspak #asiacup2023 pic.twitter.com/mWHDTrtC5s
— Suresh Raina__ (@ImRaina) September 11, 2023
KL Rahul also spoke on his partnership with Virat Kohli, who slammed his 47th ODI century as well in his unbeaten partnership with Rahul. “He has hit 13,000 runs. I can’t say anything about that man; he is just phenomenal. Words are short to describe what a great cricketer he is, and I’ve always felt comfortable playing with him in the middle. We run really hard. It’s not that he runs hard only for himself; he runs his partner's runs as well really hard, and there’s good communication between us. We both really like being in those situations; we’ve been there before.
“Initially, he gave me some time; I had said that I need some time to get those quick singles because I need to feel comfortable and confident in my body, and he understood that. After that, it was just a flow. He was doing what he does best, and that gave me some time to get into the game, and I started playing my shots. So we were just reminding ourselves that we have to play proper cricket shots and play to our strengths,” Rahul said.
