KL Rahul
KL Rahul found himself among runs in the second ODI against England in Pune on Friday. The Karnataka lad reached the three-figure mark after over a year as he scored his fifth ODI hundred at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
While Rahul anchored the innings, bringing up his ton in 108 deliveries, Rishabh Pant accelerated the run-flow with a 28-ball fifty as India raced to 257 for 3 at the end of the 43rd over. Rahul's previous ODI ton was against New Zealand in February last year at Mount Maunganui.
Rahul also became the first player from either side to score a century in the ongoing ODI series. Rahul's century was his first against England and second at home.
Earlier, Rahul was dropped from the final T20I against England following a series of low scores. However, he found his mojo back in the ODI series opener on Tuesday where he scored 62* off 43 deliveries in an innings laced with 4 fours and 4 sixes. His knock played a vital role in taking India’s total beyond the 300-run mark.
Ahead of the second ODI, Rahul said that low scores in the T20I series never impacted his confidence. In the four T20Is he played against England, Rahul managed to gather just 15 runs, raising questions over his place in the Playing XI. "As a batsman, I feel being in the middle and playing games is what keeps me in good touch," he had said.
"Having not got as much game time as I would have liked, I mean I won't say it did not play on my mind, but somehow or the other you have to find a way to be best prepared, be it at training or open net sessions."
