3 reasons why ODIs bring the best out of KL Rahul

Team India batter KL Rahul had been under a lot of pressure heading into the first ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, March 17.

He was dropped for the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after failing to make an impact in the first two matches. Rahul was even stripped of vice-captaincy after his low scores in the Test matches.

There were plenty of concerns over his form when he was picked in the ODI squad for the three-match series against the Aussies. However, the 30-year-old alleviated the worries with a fine knock under pressure in the first game in Mumbai. Chasing 189, Team India lost half their side for 83 runs by the 20th over.

Rahul absorbed the pressure and guided the team to victory, scoring an unbeaten 75 off 91 balls, an innings which included seven fours and a six.

He featured in a crucial partnership of 108* with Ravindra Jadeja (45*). While the latter was named Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance, Rahul’s performance was unarguably the biggest positive for India from the game.

In the wake of his excellent knock in the first one-dayer, we analyzed three reasons why the 50-over format brings the best out of Rahul.

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#1 Rahul keeps things very simple while batting in ODIs

India beat Australia by five wickets in the opening ODI. Pic: Getty Images

One of Rahul’s most impressive aspects of Rahul as an ODI batter is that he is very good at keeping things simple.

The right-hander reads the game situation really well and bats accordingly. This is precisely why he has been able to win a number of games for India from tough situations.

His unbeaten 75-run knock in the Mumbai ODI against the Aussies is the latest case in point. The hosts lost five wickets in a chase of 189 and were under pressure for sure. But unlike in recent Test matches, where Rahul looked completely out of rhythm, a different batter stepped out with the willow at the Wankhede Stadium.

The 30-year-old was in complete control of the situation. He rotated the strike without much trouble and before Australia knew the match was out of their grasp.

Rahul’s uncomplicated approach is one of his biggest assets in ODIs. Speaking after his match-winning knock in Mumbai, the batter gave an insight into his methodology. He said of his performance:

“(I) just tried to play normal cricketing shots. Got a few boundaries away and that settled my nerves. There was help on the wicket but we did not want to get into our shell and play out a certain bowler. We wanted to be positive and put the loose balls away.”

The above statement pretty much sums up why Rahul has tasted a lot of success in the ODI format as compared to Test cricket.

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#2 He knows when to switch gears

The 30-year-old paced his innings really well. Pic: Getty Images India v Australia - 1st ODI

Another feature that makes Rahul a dangerous one-day batter is his ability to switch gears at the opportune moment.

In the first ODI in Mumbai, Team India needed him to see out a challenging phase after Mitchell Starc’s opening burst put the hosts on the back foot. The need of the hour was for someone to hold the innings together and that is exactly what the keeper-batter did.

The batter took his time and brought up a patient half-century. However, once the Men in Blue were out of danger, Rahul wasted no time in trying to assert his dominance. The well-set batter smacked Cameron Green for a boundary immediately after reaching his fifty and then clubbed Adam Zampa for a four and a six.

Although Team India were pursuing an average total, the way Rahul paced his innings was a prototype of how to ace a tricky chase. He has done it a number of times in the recent past to prove that he is a genuine and consistent match-winner in ODIs.

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#3 He seems most comfortable while batting in ODIs

The right-handed batter has consistently performed in one-dayers. Pic: Getty Images

Of all the three formats, Rahul has the best record in ODIs because he has been very consistent for India in the 50-over version.

It might be something psychological or natural, but the format seems to suit him best as the right-handed batter just looks at home. Even as his Test numbers have fluctuated and he has struggled in T20Is lately, ODI is one format where Rahul has managed to make his impact in a significant manner.

In 52 ODIs, he has scored 1945 runs at an average of 46.30 and a strike rate of 87.14, with five hundreds and 13 fifties. The fluent batter scored a magnificent hundred on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in Harare in June 2016. He has looked back since in the format.

While Rahul has failed to deliver in consistently red-ball cricket, he has hardly gone through a lean patch in ODIs. But because he has struggled in other formats, question marks have been unfairly raised over his one-day career as well.

In 17 matches since the start of March 2021, he has smashed 613 runs at an average of 47.15, with one hundred and five fifties. The numbers tell the story in itself.