Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq lambasts KL Rahul’s batting approach against the mighty Australian team in the marquee final of the ODI World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The Indian wicket-keeper batter failed to make an impact for the team being the highest run-scorer for India in the marquee clash.
KL Rahul’s performance in the 2023 World Cup final generated a lot of conversation among the experts and fans. The 31-year-old had to balance maintaining the desired run rate and steadying the Indian innings as he came to the crease in the 11th over, with India at 81/3. It took him 86 deliveries to achieve the half-century mark, which was the tournament’s slowest fifty.
Speaking on A Sports, Misbah-ul-Haq believes that KL Rahul performed admirably throughout the tournament, all across the field, but in the showpiece final, it appeared as though he was waiting for his opportunity and mistrusted the batter on the opposite side, which ultimately contributed to the team’s batting collapse.
“KL Rahul plays spin very well and we have seen it throughout the tournament. He plays well square of the wicket, front of the wicket, and uses his feet really well. But today his approach was that he was waiting. Maybe he was not trusting the other batters. He was thinking about getting the team to 250 and it got difficult,” Misbah-ul-Haq said.
India’s last two batting prospects, Kohli and Rahul, seemed to take things easy on the dangerous wicket as they battled the well-organized Australian bowlers with caution, not going for boundaries, as the two were unable to put pressure on the Australian bowling attack and with them losing wickets, India appeared to be out of the game with Ravindra Jadeja and Suryakumar Yadav failing to step for the team.
While Australia was controlling the middle overs of the game, KL Rahul did everything in his power to keep India out of trouble. The Australian pacers were all over the Indian batters at the Narendra Modi Stadium, and Rahul had to put in a lot of effort to get only one boundary in his innings.
Australia and India will now face off in a Twenty20 International series. For the series, the majority of India’s veteran players have been rested after a demanding ODI World Cup. With Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya not playing the series, Suryakumar Yadav will captain the second-string Indian squad in a five-match series, which could act as a preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
