After winning the crucial Rajkot ODI against Australia, the Indian captain Virat Kohli has shown confidence in his selection process. He lauded all the Indian players, including the Player of the Match KL Rahul.
As India suffered a thrashing ten-wicket defeat against Australia in the opening game of this three-match ODI series at Mumbai, the last two matches of this series are the must-win games for the hosts to win this series. India have levelled up this ODI series by winning the second ODI at Rajkot on Friday (17th January) night.
While the hosts set up the target of 341 runs in the Rajkot ODI, the visitors were bowled out for 304 runs (49.1 overs). In the absence of the injured wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul played in this ODI as the designated wicketkeeper-batsman. Coming to bat at the no.5 position, Rahul scored 80 off 52 balls (6 fours and 3 sixes). He also impressed with his wicketkeeping skills as he successfully made one speedy stumping and also grabbed two catches.
Praising KL Rahul’s batting, Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony, “We live in the days of social media and the panic button was pressed too early. It’s important to not leave someone like KL out. You saw how he batted today. This is probably the best he’s played at the international level. The knock showed maturity and class, and we know exactly what we’re doing in the dressing room.”
Shikhar Dhawan can change the situation for the team – Virat Kohli
The opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan had a hard time last year. However, he has started the new year in a good way as he has scored three consecutive 50s in the last three international matches. After scoring 52 runs in the Pune T20I against Sri Lanka and 74 runs in the Mumbai ODI, he was very close to hitting a century in the Rajkot ODI, but his batting ended on 96 off 90 balls (13 fours and only six). Dhawan not only provided a very good start, but his batting also secured the path for the hosts to set the big first-innings total.
Virat Kohli said about Dhawan, “Important couple of games for Shikhar. He was injured for a long time and in ODIs he’s been one of our most consistent and aggressive performers, and he can change the situation for the team. It augurs well when the two openers are so good together.”
The Indian captain gave an update on Rohit Sharma’s shoulder injury
During the 43rd over of the second innings of this ODI, Rohit Sharma suffered an injury on his left shoulder when he tried to save a boundary. The Indian captain expects him to be fit for the next ODI which will be the series decider match. They will play this ODI at Bengaluru on Sunday (19th January).
Kohli claimed, “Rohit’s left shoulder has popped out of few times, and he should be good to go in the next game.”
While the Indian bowlers failed to pick up at least one wicket in the Mumbai ODI, this time they combinedly took all the wickets to secure a comfortable victory. The no.1-ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah (1/32) managed to pick up the last wicket, while Navdeep Saini (2/62), Ravindra Jadeja (2/58) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/65) all got two wickets each. On the other hand, the right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami (3/77) scalped three wickets, and Kohli believes that Shami was the game-changer in this crucial ODI.
Praising his all bowlers, Kohli said, “I asked the bowlers what they wanted to do and they said this was the time to execute the yorkers. All three of them were really good with the yorkers, particularly Shami who changed everything in that over.”
KL Rahul is becoming a multi-dimensional player – Virat Kohli
The Indian captain once again lauded KL Rahul. After watching his latest batting and wicketkeeping performances, Kohli believes that Rahul is growing up as a multi-dimensional player.
Virat Kohli added, “KL is becoming a multi-dimensional player, and it’s really great when players step up like this.”