KL Rahul, who was going through a lean patch, silenced his critics after playing a match-winning knock in the first ODI against Australia the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (March 17). Riding on Rahul's sedate 75 off 91 India chased down Australia's 189-run target with five wickets in hand. But it wasn't easy for Rahul when India were once reeling at 39/4. With Indian wickets tumbling at the other end, it was Rahul who steadied India's boat. India lost Ishan Kishan (3 off 8), Shubman Gill (20 off 31), Virat Kohli (4 off 9) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) in a span of 10 overs. Skipper Hardik Pandya too walked back to pavilion after scoring 25 off 31 to leave India teetering at 83/5. But Rahul came to India's rescue and paired up with Ravindra Jadeja to stitch together 108-run winning partnership.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricket team fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad, who recently slammed Rahul for misfiring in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series, lauded the star batter for his batting heroics in Wankhede.
“Excellent composure under pressure and a brilliant innings by KL Rahul. Top knock. Great support by Ravindra Jadeja and a good win for India,” Venkatesh Prasad tweeted.
Venkatesh was one of the many names who criticised Rahul for his repeated failures in Tests which also led to star batter's ouster from third and fourth match of the just concluded Border-Gavaskar series. Rahul was also removed from the vice-captaincy post after his poor string of runs. Rahul could only score 38 runs in the three innings that he played in the two Test matches he played in Nagpur and Delhi.
Rahul also lost his place from India's fold in the shortest format of the game since 2022 T20 World Cup. Rahul was appointed Rohit Sharma's deputy in all the three formats of the game but his misfiring form stripped him off the top post. In the first ODI against Australia as well, he wasn't considered for the vice-captaincy post. Rather Hardik Pandya led India's pack in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma.
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