KL Rahul masters middle order: adapting, excelling, delivering for India

Dubai [UAE], March 5 : Since becoming a full-time number 5 in ODIs, KL Rahul has expanded his range as a middle-order batter. Since 2020, he has averaged 61.52 in that position--higher than anyone else with a minimum of 20 innings, including Heinrich Klaasen, whose average is nearly seven points lower. However, leading up to the Champions Trophy, India wanted to introduce variety in their right-hand-heavy lineup and decided to promote Axar Patel to No. 5. As a result, Rahul shifted down to No. 6 but has quickly adapted, working extensively on his power-hitting.
"Yeah, I do [enjoy batting at the top], I mean I won't lie," Rahul told Star Sports, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"It's after opening the batting in Australia in Test matches and having to face that attack in Australia and you know how red-ball [cricket] is much harder. I opened the batting there and then to come here and bat low seems a bit different, but this is how I've played white-ball cricket in the last four-five years," he added.
"So, I'm quite used to going up and down the order so I'm just happy getting a chance to play in the middle and whatever role is given, I think it's really helped me understand my game a lot more and I've had to work on boundary hitting a lot more in the last year or so because the last ODI we played in Sri Lanka I batted at No. 6, so I knew that's where I'll be batting and [we] needed a left-hander in the top order," he noted.
Before the Champions Trophy, there was a debate over whether Rahul or Rishabh Pant should take the wicketkeeper-batter slot, but the team ultimately stuck with Rahul. On Tuesday, he walked in after Axar's dismissal, with India needing 86 runs from 15 overs and six wickets on a challenging Dubai surface. When Virat Kohli fell for 84, Australia sensed an opportunity, but Rahul shut the door with an unbeaten 42 off 34 balls, striking two fours and two sixes to steer India into the final. When asked about the uncertainty surrounding his role, Rahul reflected on his approach.
"Honestly, I mean it's since I think 2020 I've batted at No.5 and a lot of times people forget that that's where I've been batting," Rahul said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"And every time I perform in a series and then there's a break from ODI series, ODI cricket and then we come back after four or five months there's a question mark again about 'oh well will he play in the XI, where does he fit' and sometimes I'm sitting there thinking what more can I do. Everywhere that I've been asked to play I've played and I feel like I have performed my role. Whatever's been told to me by Rohit [Sharma], Rohit's been the captain for the last four-five years," he added.
"And whatever he's told me I feel like I've done that to the best of my ability. And I know that Rohit feels the same and he's always supported me and backed me with that. So, there's that confidence going into the game that the captain has my back," he said.
Although Dubai had prepared a fresh pitch for the semi-final, it remained slow and spin-friendly, making strike rotation difficult. Recognizing this, Rahul decided it was worth taking a calculated risk in every over, particularly with Kohli in imperious form at the other end. He took on Tanveer Sangha, Ben Dwarshuis, and Adam Zampa, finding boundaries in quick succession before Kohli was caught at long-on. Hardik Pandya followed soon after, but Rahul kept his composure, finishing the job alongside Ravindra Jadeja.
"When I walked in and when I played 10-12 balls, I told him [Virat Kohli] that you're the batter that needs to go on and be there till the end," Rahul said.
"And let me try and hit or let me try and take one chance over. Because like you said, we only needed 6 runs and over. But 6 runs and over on that wicket seemed like 8-8.5. So, you had to take one chance and over, one boundary or one six," he said.
"So, I told him that I will do that and why don't you just rotate the strike and be there because you're the set batter and it might be harder. If you get out another set batter comes it becomes a lot more harder. But yeah, he felt like it was in his range to hit and yeah he didn't time it well," he noted.