Given how well India’s spin bowlers had performed in the first innings at Chepauk, Adam Zampa’s spell was always going to have a crucial bearing on the result. Given his outstanding record in India – 27 wickets in 16 previous games – and a slow, abrasive surface, there would have been more than a hint of nerves in the Indian dressing room. Though they had recovered from the depths of 2 for 3, a total of 56-3 after 17 overs suggested a game very much in the balance. A wicket or two then, and it could very much have been Advance Australia Fair.
Instead, KL Rahul cut the second ball he faced from Australia’s only specialist spinner down to third man for four. It was more a chop than a deft deflection, with the ball almost on top of the stumps when he played it. Two balls later, Rahul spotted the googly and power was replaced by touch, and the wristlets of late deflections sent the ball to the third-man rope again. A clearly frazzled Zampa then tossed one up, and the low full toss was just crunched through the off-side for four. Australia’s potential match-winner had been taken for 13 in his first over, and for the rest of the evening, he didn’t remotely look like matching what Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin had done earlier in the day.
When you look at Rahul’s ODI career, the first thing that strikes you is how little he has played. He’s marked his guard just 59 times in just over seven years, despite averaging nearly 50 in the format. While he remains a viable opening option, especially in a scenario where either Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill don’t play, the decision to bat him at No.5 has paid rich dividends over the past three years. In 21 innings there, he averages 56.50 while striking at nearly a run a ball (96.58), and has gone past 50 on nine occasions. Few are more adept at working the spinners around in the middle overs, and he’s more than capable of easing the pressure with a booming stroke or two.
One of the more mystifying aspects of the hatred Rahul seems to attract on social media platforms is how disconnected it is from reality. While he has struggled for consistency in the Test arena, he’s someone who’s made runs in the toughest conditions – in England, Australia and South Africa. He has an ODI century in New Zealand. And he has done all this with grace and humility – no yelling into microphones, no chest-thumping, and no outlandish statements on his socials.
There were actually ‘fans’ on social media platforms and groups that celebrated his getting injured during the IPL, an injury that ruled him out of contention for the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. It was only a superb century against Pakistan in the recent Asia Cup (from No.4) that stopped much of the carping. But you can be sure that a couple of failures down the line, and the memes and barbs will start again.
You can understand why the team management values him so highly. Like his coach and namesake, a generation ago, Rahul has done an outstanding job as a makeshift wicketkeeper. That you barely noticed that it wasn’t a specialist behind the stumps as Kuldeep and Jadeja made the ball talk tells you as much. The added responsibility has enhanced his batting – he averages 61 from 22 innings when donning the keeper’s gloves – and he even stepped in to captain when Rohit was rested for a couple of matches against Australia in the build-up to this tournament.
That old line about empty vessels and a lot of noise was made for Rahul’s critics, a sad and unemployed bunch this Monday morning. The man himself did what he always does. He did what the team wanted him to. The headlines may, predictably, have been about Virat Kohli, but Rahul was the one who saw the chase through to the end.
One of the big reasons for India falling short at the last World Cup was the inability to settle on a regular No. 4 or No. 5. There will be days, as Rohit had said in an interview with RevSportz, when you will slip to 10 for 3, or worse. That’s when your middle order needs to stand tall. Rahul did on Sunday night, to give India just about the perfect start in what they hope will be a successful 11-game marathon.
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