With second fifty in row, Rahul stakes claim as India’s regular T20 opener

INDORE : KL Rahul, despite his fluency and the ease with which he hit eight sixes and five fours, was upstaged, his name drowned in the roars for Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who came in one-drop in the second T20 International at the Holkar Stadium here on Friday.

The Karnataka batsman played a key role, holding one end up and providing valuable support as his skipper of the day blazed a second T20 International century in 35 balls to equal the fastest ever in the shortest format.

In one-dayers, Rahul, like Ajinkya Rahane, has been pushed up and down the order as India have not exactly got a solution for the unsettled middle-order. He is an opener but was made to bat at No 3, 4 and 5 in the ODI series in Sri Lanka, returning below par scores.

LUCKY BREAK

Since then he has not played an ODI, getting an opportunity in this T20 series only because Shikhar Dhawan opted out.

While it reflects India’s bench strength, it also shows some sort of confusion. The Indian team management’s insistence on having Ajinkya Rahane only as an opener in ODIS has left a void in the middle, where Rahul was one among the many tried without encouraging results.

Trying Shikhar in ODIS at the top with Rohit Sharma is fine as he has a better average than Rahane and Rahul, but picking him ahead of Rahul in T20 Internationals defies logic.

Rahul has, in fact, far better average in T20 (over 50) than in the other two formats. After his century in Lauderhill against West Indies last year, he has played seven T20 games and given India starts in most of them. India have played 12 T20s in the period. This series he has struck fifties in both matches.

Former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad told Hindustan Times: “He is best suited for the limited-overs format as he is a good stroke-player. He has a variety of shots. Even in Tests, you see how fluent he is and also gets a big score. If he has to play T20s, he has got to bat at the opening slot.”