Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul matches Virat Kohli's mark, becomes joint 4th-fastest Indian to score 2,000 ODI runs

Stylish right-handed batter KL Rahul notched yet another accolade to his name when he breached the 2,000 run mark in ODIs during the Asia Cup contest against arch-rivals Pakistan.

SportsTak

• Sun • 10 Sep 2023

Highlights:

KL Rahul notched yet another accolade to his name when he breached the 2,000-run mark in ODIs.He achieved the milestone during the Asia Cup contest against arch-rivals Pakistan.

In his comeback match, stylish right-handed batter KL Rahul notched yet another accolade to his name when he breached the 2,000 run mark in ODIs during the Asia Cup contest against arch-rivals Pakistan. The 31-year-old achieved the milestone when he scored his 14th run during the innings against the Men in Blue at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 10 (Sunday). Rahul became the joint fourth-fastest Indian batter to score 2,000 runs in 50-over international cricket.

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain reached the milestone in his 53rd ODI inning and, he did so in style, by nonchalantly pulling Haris Rauf's delivery for a boundary toward mid-wicket. Former India captain and maverick batter, Virat Kohli had also brought up his 2,000 runs in ODIs in his 53rd inning.

When it comes to the fastest Indian batter to score 2,000 runs in ODIs, the record rests with stylish left-handed batter Shikhar Dhawan, who reached the milestone in his 48th inning.

Fastest Indians to 2,000 runs in ODIs:

Shikhar Dhawan: 48 innings

Navjot Singh Sidhu: 52 innings

Sourav Ganguly: 52 innings

Virat Kohli: 53 innings

KL Rahul: 53 innings

Ahead of his comeback game, Rahul spoke about how excited he was to finally return to international cricket after a lengthy hiatus due to injury.

“I'm happy to come back into the team and get back the rhythm of being in the middle, playing 100 overs, keeping for 50 overs. I'm fighting for as long as I need to, just getting back that adrenaline of being back on the cricket field. We're playing the best tournaments outside of the World Cup. We're playing some quality teams in the next week, 10 days. So I'm very excited about that. I've prepared really well. I'm confident about myself,” Rahul said in a video shared by the BCCI.

Reflecting on his recovery process, Rahul also touched on how frustrating it was for him when he picked up a niggle and had to miss the opening two matches for India in the ongoing Asia Cup.

"Unfortunately, in the recovery process, I developed a small niggle just before I could come back into the team, which was a big downer. I was actually I ahead of schedule, and I felt like I could come back much before the Asia Cup and give myself a lot of time and prepare myself really well," said Rahul.