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IND vs SA: Twitterverse Hails KL Rahul as Indian Opener Silences Critics With 24-ball Fifty in 2nd T20I

October 2, 2022
Bharat Times

Flamboyant India opener KL Rahul scored a sensational half-century against South Africa T20I in the 2nd to silence his critics who were questioning his strike rate before the match. Rahul scored 57 runs off 28 balls at a strike rate of 203.57. He belted 5 fours and clubbed 4 sixes against a high-class Proteas bowling line-up.

Asked to bat first, Rahul opened his account on the first ball itself with a classy boundary with his impeccable timing. The opening batter carried forward the momentum which allowed his skipper Rohit Sharma to get settled in the middle. Rohit struggled a bit in the starting but Rahul took off pressure from him by scoring some nonchalant boundaries which were extremely pleasing to the eyes.

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The duo shared a 96-run stand for the opening wicket to set up the foundation of a big score. Keshav Maharaj got the better of the Indian skipper to break the dangerous stand. While Rahul smacked a six to complete his 20th T20I half-century. It was his second consecutive fifty-plus score in T20Is, however, he got criticized for his low strike in the first T20I against the Proteas. On a tricky batting surface, when India lost early wickets of Rohit and Virat Kohli, Rahul batted with a cautious approach in Thiruvananthapuram. He scored unbeaten 51 runs off 56 balls to help India register a clinical 8-wicket win while chasing a 107-run target.

The former cricketers and fans on Twitter were highly impressed with Rahul’s batting approach on Sunday.

Earlier, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second T20I at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

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India captain Rohit said his playing eleven is unchanged from the win in the T20I series opener at Thiruvananthapuram. “We would have fielded as well. Just want to come out, play some good cricket and entertain the crowd. We have never beaten these guys here and it’s gonna take a lot of effort from everyone to do that and we have come out prepared and pretty much ready for the game.”


Rohit admitted to not being sure of conditions in Guwahati, where heavy showers have been predicted for the evening. “Not too sure how the conditions will be. When I touched the pitch there was some stickiness and we gotta be a little cautious at the start. We got solid batting line-up and it will be a challenge upfront.”

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