"Intent merchant of the highest order" - Twitterati in awe of Rahul Tripathi's blistering knock in the 3rd T20I

Team India batter Rahul Tripathi played an entertaining cameo of 44 runs off just 22 deliveries to get the hosts to a solid position in the third T20I against New Zealand on Wednesday, February 1.

He walked into bat at No. 3 following Ishan Kishan's early dismissal. The right-handed batter showcased his intent right away and dominated the bowlers with a flurry of boundaries which included a few unorthodox strokes as well. He played a vital hand with Shubman Gill at the other end to help the hosts to 58 runs in the powerplay.

Following the end of the six-over mark, Tripathy proceeded to take on the spinners. He was proficient in hitting the ball over covers, with both Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi turning the ball away from him. The 31-year-old looked in ominous touch and registered his highest score in national colors, but could not translate it into something highly relevant.

Tripathy swiveled onto his backfoot and attempted a pull shot off a half-tracker by Sodhi, but could not clear the largest boundary on the leg side. Lockie Ferguson claimed a composed catch at the deep square leg boundary rope to bring the entertaining knock to a rather premature end.

Tripathi has now scored 97 runs in five T20Is since making his debut in the second game against Sri Lanka in January 2023. He was not among the runs in the ongoing series against New Zealand on tricky surfaces but has made up for his failures with a highly promising knock.

Twitter was full of praise for the intent shown by the batter despite coming into bat during a tricky stage of the innings. Here are some of the reactions:

Team India dominate proceedings despite Tripathi's untimely dismissal

Rahul Tripathi's dismissal brought the curtains down on a glittering 80-run partnership off just 42 balls for the second wicket. However, the partnership did set up a monumental platform on a flat surface, where dew is also expected to come into play in the second innings.

Suryakumar Yadav has also got going, coming in at No. 4, while Shubman Gill notched up his maiden T20I fifty. At the time of writing, Team India are 118-2 after 12 overs.

Should Rahul Tripathi feature regularly in the Indian T20I setup moving forward? Let us know what you think.

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