KL Rahul became the fourth Indian batter to reach the milestone of scoring 1000 runs in international cricket in 2023. The right-handed batter accomplished this feat during the World Cup 2023 final, which took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad between India and Australia on November 19.
India vs Australia scorecard
Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma are the other Indian batter who have crossed the 1000-run mark in 2023. In total, 36 batters have achieved this milestone in the current year.
Rahul reached his fifty off 86 balls, marking the slowest half-century in the ongoing edition of the mega event.
Rahul entered the crease following the dismissals of key players Rohit, Gill, and Iyer. Subsequently, he partnered with Kohli, and together they contributed 67 runs for the fourth wicket.
Rahul displayed consistent batting form. In a previous tournament, he established a record for the fastest century by an Indian batter in the history of the ODI World Cup. This noteworthy achievement occurred during India's match against the Netherlands led by Scott Edwards at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Rahul kicked off the tournament with an undefeated 97 against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In a situation where India faced the loss of three early wickets, Rahul played a crucial role, contributing a valuable innings that led his team to a six-wicket victory at the Chepauk.
The batter from Bangalore also registered significant scores of 39, 27, and an unbeaten 34 against England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, respectively.
From 2020 to 2023, Rahul's performances in the middle order have shown a mix of results. In this period, an experimental Indian team faced several batting collapses. Notably, out of Rahul's seven fifty-plus scores, which included two centuries, five ended in defeats despite his contributions.
However, this year, Rahul's contributions have been even more significant, with all six of his fifty-plus innings resulting in Indian victories. Remarkably, three of these instances occurred when the team lost three wickets in the first PowerPlay.
With Iyer and Hardik Pandya in the middle order, Rahul carries significant weight in boosting India's chances, comparable to anyone else. His aspiration is to ignore distractions, persist in his efforts, and guide India to World Cup success after a 12-year gap.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by PTI)
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