A packed house at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida got all their money worth on Saturday as they witnessed a truly entertaining game of T20 cricket which broke the record for the highest number of runs scored and sixes hit in a T20 international match. Indian skipper MS Dhoni also broke a record as he became the most experienced international captain leading the Men in Blue for the 325th time across all formats.
Dhoni almost made it a memorable occasion playing a little cameo during the Indian run-chase but was left undone by a slower ball from Chennai Super Kings teammate Dwayne Bravo as held out at short third man giving the West Indies a win by a solitary run.
Devastating for Dhoni and the huge number of Indian fans that flocked to the stadium prompting West Indies skipper Carlos Brathwaite to wonder whom the home team really was but the one player that would have felt the shock of the defeat more than anyone else would be KL Rahul.
The 24-year-old Mangalore-born cricketer played a gem of innings to almost take India over the line in what seemed an improbable run chase to begin with, especially after the dismissal of India’s ‘chase-master’ Virat Kohli. Set an indomitable target of 246 runs, India started off brightly no doubt but when Kohli headed back to the pavilion, Anil Kumble’s men still needed 198 runs in 15.2 overs at a required rate of 12.23.
Rahul was undeterred though by the task at hand and went about his batting with ruthless aggression. Joining hands with the much experienced Rohit Sharma and later his skipper, the youngster went hammer and tongs on the batsman-friendly surface but what stood out was his clean hitting that has held him in such good stead in the other formats as well. He hit a staggering 12 boundaries and 5 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 112 from just 51 balls.
He brought up his three-figure mark off just 46 balls to take him to second place on the list of fastest centuries in T20Is along with South Africa’s Faf du Plessis. By scoring a century in the shortest format of the game, Rahul became only the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of the game behind Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma and considering that he has achieved the feat with just 20 innings at the highest level of the game – none of which have come on home soil – is truly remarkable.
The brilliant final over from Bravo might have left Rahul devastated as he could only watch in despair from the other end but he has well and truly sealed his reputation as India’s next big batting sensation.
A debut to forget but Rahul quickly made amends
Consistent performances in the domestic circuit have been a key to Rahul’s rise in Indian cricket. But he did not have it easy making a false start more often than not before truly showing his class. What better statement to certify the above claim than Rahul’s boyhood coach Jayaraj Samuel’s comments regarding his first impression of the budding cricketer.
“When we first saw him, he was not that impressive, but he had the commitment,” Jayaraj said in an interview. “His hard work and efforts will lead him to the goal he wants to reach.”
Having represented India at the 2010 Under-19 World cup before making his first-class debut for Karnataka in the 2010-11 season, Rahul impressed with his performances for Bangalore Brigadiers in the Karnataka Premier League.
It was the 2013 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament that shot Rahul to prominence. Having scored 250 runs, he was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise ahead of the 2013 IPL but failed to make any impact making a meagre 20 runs from 5 matches.
Also read: How Dwayne Bravo outwitted MS Dhoni and KL Rahul in the last over of the India-West Indies T20I
The disappointment didn’t hinder Rahul though as he continued his consistent performances for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy before the big break followed in the final of the 2013-14 Duleep Trophy that saw Rahul 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 balls in the second for South Zone against Central Zone. Just like on Saturday, Rahul ended up on the losing side but that match prompted the Indian selectors to name him in the Indian Test squad that was set to tour Australia in late 2014.
The big day came at the daunting Melbourne Cricket Ground when Rahul got the Indian Test cap from MS Dhoni as he was selected in favour of Rohit Sharma for the Boxing Day match. It turned out to be a tale of horror as he failed miserably in both innings with Rahul himself terming it a “nightmare debut.” He, however, got the chance to redeem himself in the Sydney Test and he passed the Test with flying colours scoring a magnificent century and a star was born.
Seizing the opportunities
With the focus shifting to the ODI series and the 2015 World Cup, Rahul headed back to the grinds of the domestic circuit but with rejuvenated confidence and it showed as he became the first triple-centurion for Karnataka in first-class cricket on 30 January 2015, scoring 337 off 448 balls at Bengaluru against Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy match.
Despite yet another disappointing IPL campaign, this time, for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rahul was very much in favour as far as the Test format was concerned and found a place for himself in the tour to Sri Lanka after missing out on the one-off Test againstBangaldesh due to dengue.
With Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in the ranks, Rahul was the reserve opener in the side but as luck would have it, Vijay got injured ahead of the first Test handing Rahul a place in the playing eleven. Rahul failed to impress though and it looked as if the big chance to stake his claim for a permanent spot had gone. However, Rahul’s fortunes were on the rise with Dhawan getting injured and this time around, Rahul seized the unexpected chance with both hands.
Having lost the opening Test on a rank turner at the Galle, India were desperately looking for answers from their batsmen and Rahul stood up and delivered with his second Test century that earned him his first international Man-of-the-Match award and more importantly helped the visitors level the series, before eventually securing a series victory.
He failed, however, to make it to the playing eleven in any of the four Tests in the home series against South Africa and with the focus shifting to T20 cricket in the lead up to the 2016 World T20, Rahul understood that he needed to change the general perception that he was a Test specialist and he did just that with a stellar 2016 IPL campaign.
Making the transition as an all-format player
Having scored only 142 runs from 9 matches during the 2015 IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t think much before parting with Rahul ahead of the 2016 edition as the RCB brought the player back in a bid to bolster their middle-order with the Karnataka player’s return also meaning a better connect with the fans.
Rahul warmed the bench for RCB’s first two games of the season before Chris Gayle’s short return to the West Indies after becoming a father for the first time gave Rahul an opportunity to show his T20 credentials. Many criticised Kohli’s decision to open the innings with Rahul and the latter didn't do much to repay his skipper’s faith returning with scores of 23 and 7 as well as fumbling a few chances behind the stumps as the RCB’s stand-in wicketkeeper.
RCB planned to bring in T20 specialist Mandeep Singh in Rahul's place for the game against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot but an unfortunate injury after the toss meant that Rahul retained his place and he went on to make his maiden IPL fifty off just 34 balls and there has been no looking back since.
He went on to score three more half-centuries to finish off as the team’s third highest run-getter with 397 runs in their run to the finals against his former side. The story of luck playing its part and ending up on the losing side continued but Rahul proved that he is not just a player for Test cricket.
A player for all seasons
The limited-overs series against Zimbabwe gave the Indian selectors the perfect opportunity to try out Rahul and the batsman didn’t disappoint as he became the first Indian cricketer to score an ODI century on debut. He produced solid displays in the remaining two 50-over matches as well as the three-match T20 series and as the only player in the touring party who was selected for the four-Test series in the West Indies, Rahul knew that there was no time to rest.
Rahul had to once again step aside though as India opted for the experienced pairing of Dhawan and Vijay to open the innings in the series opener at Antigua and with the visitors winning the match in convincing fashion, it seemed that the Karnataka cricketer would have to warm the benches. But as we have seen earlier, injury played a part as Vijay missed out of the Jamaica Test in which Rahul scored 158 runs to bring up his third Test century against three different opposition on their own turf.
The hastily arranged T20 series against the West Indies gave Rahul another crack at the shortest format of the game and with his blistering knock on Saturday, he has shown that he truly belongs at the international level. Centuries in Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Jamaica and now the USA, Rahul has proved that there is no surface that is beyond his capabilities.
Being equally adept at all three formats is no joke and Rahul has found a way to fine-tune his game at the highest level in a small amount of time. That too when he has not been afforded a consistent run in the side. But just like his idol, Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul has stood up in whatever little international cricket he has played thus far to stand up and deliver when the team has asked him to do.
Rahul might be a long way off from matching Kohli’s feats but the way he has started out in international cricket surely means that Indian cricket has found their big batting sensation.
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