"To win the tournament, that middle order has to be prepared to put the foot down a little bit earlier" - Aaron Finch lauds KL Rahul's century

Aaron Finch believes KL Rahul adopting an attacking approach right from the outset of his innings will hold India in good stead heading into the 2023 World Cup semi-finals.

Rahul smashed 102 runs off 64 deliveries as the Men in Blue posted a mammoth 410/4 in their last league game against the Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday. The hosts then bowled out the Dutch for 250 to register a convincing 160-run win.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Finch was asked about his thoughts on Rahul's century, to which he responded:

"The way that he started was the most impressive thing. Sometimes he likes to take a few balls to get into his innings but he was right on from the start today, and especially on the back of that start from Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli."

The former Australia skipper added:

"That's exactly what India needed. I think to win the tournament, that middle order has to be prepared to put the foot down a little bit earlier, and between KL (Rahul) and Shreyas (Iyer) today, that was unbelievable batting."

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer added 208 runs for the fourth wicket in just 21.1 overs. The latter scored an unbeaten 128 off 94 deliveries with the help of 10 fours and five sixes.

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"He used to play a lot of shots earlier but he has done some corrections and become a proper player" - Imran Tahir on KL Rahul

KL Rahul struck 11 fours and four sixes during his innings. [P/C: AP]

Imran Tahir was asked about KL Rahul showing once again that he was India's original 360-degree player before Suryakumar Yadav came to the fore, to which he replied:

"He used to play a lot of shots earlier but he has done some corrections and become a proper player. However, the last part of his innings we saw, especially the no-look shot he played and the way he middles the ball, I feel he is an extremely good player."

The former South Africa leg-spinner highlighted bowlers' issues while bowling to the wicketkeeper-batter. He elaborated:

"It's extremely difficult to bowl to such players, especially in the death overs. He can play the cut, hit over mid-on, mid-off and midwicket, and scoop the ball as well. He played a wonderful innings."

Tahir concluded by saying that if India lose a few early wickets, they know they have a player who would always stay till the end. He added that the right-hander played dual roles in Sunday's game, playing cautiously at the start and showing the real KL Rahul in the end.