"The only enemy that KL Rahul has is not the bowler" - Former cricketer's huge statement on Indian batter after 2025 Champions Trophy heroics

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised KL Rahul for his composed knocks under pressure in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal and the final. While reflecting on the elegant batter's performance in the ICC event, Manjrekar stated that it was his mindset that was holding him back from success earlier.

India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. Before that, they got the better of Australia by the same margin in the first semifinal. Rahul played crucial knocks in chases both times, scoring 42* off 34 in the semis and 34* off 33 in the final.

During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar opined that both innings were crucial for Rahul, especially after he stumbled under pressure in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad. The former batter said:

"Very important for him because he was carrying that bogey of that final where he played a little slowly. He had that very candid interview where he said that it haunted him, hurt him. And to have these two innings - what I loved about him was the state of mind when he was chasing. He looked very comfortable.

"The only enemy that KL Rahul has is not the bowler but his own state of mind. And he looked very relaxed and he was very happy to just carry on. He has the big shots at his beck and call. So, all that was great to see," Manjrekar went on to add.

Rahul ended the 2025 Champions Trophy with 140 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 97.90, playing many handy knocks at the No. 6 position. He was among the five players chosen in ICC's team of the tournament.

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"I was s****ing myself at the end" - KL Rahul's candid admission

Speaking after the 2025 Champions Trophy final, Rahul admitted that he was nervous out in the middle during India's chase. The Men in Blue slipped from 105-0 to 122-3 in pursuit of 252. Rahul, however, guided the team home, with help from Axar Patel (29) and Hardik Pandya (18). Reflecting on the win, he told Star Sports:

"I don't think I can say this on camera, but I was s****ing myself at the end. But we still had a couple of batters to come, so I was confident that we could get over the line. But in moments like this and big games, it's more about holding your composure, which we all know about. Yeah, happy to win this and happy to get over the line this time."

Rahul has an excellent record in the one-day format. In 85 matches, he has scored 3,043 runs at an average of 49.08 and a strike rate of 88.17, with seven hundreds and 18 half-centuries.