Asia Cup 2023: Kohli’s century was important but KL Rahul’s century was even more important – Aakash Chopra

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels Virat Kohli’s century was important but KL Rahul’s hundred was even more important against Pakistan. While Kohli has been in decent form in the recent past, Rahul was making a return to the team’s playing XI after a long time.

Rahul had to spend time on the sidelines due to a thigh injury that he suffered in IPL 2023 while leading Lucknow Super Giants. With Shreyas Iyer also returning and Ishan Kishan scoring a fine knock of 82 runs against Pakistan in the group stage, there was a bit of pressure on Rahul to hit the ground running.

However, the experienced batter showed his class in the middle order while batting at number four. Rahul scored a fine knock of 111 runs off just 106 balls as he scored a dozen fours and two sixes. The flamboyant batter timed the ball to perfection against the Pakistan bowlers and added a gargantuan alliance of 233 runs off 195 balls with Virat Kohli, who scored a blistering knock of 122 runs off 94 balls.

India posted a huge score of 356 runs on the board and won by a massive margin of 228 runs, their biggest win against Pakistan in ODIs.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Kohli’s century was important but KL Rahul’s century was even more important because KL Rahul was not going to play this match at all. It was a disaster that a guy got injured, that’s Shreyas Iyer, and he suddenly got a chance.”

Chopra lauded Rahul for smashing a six against Shadab Khan after dancing down the track and flicking the ball over the mid-wicket boundary while playing against the turn.

“Learn from this player how to turn a calamity into an opportunity. He hit a six against the spin after dancing down the track off Shadab Khan’s bowling. That six shows why this team invests so much in him and why we say as a broken record that Kamal Lajawab Rahul is a quality player.”

Rahul is always a treat to the eyes when he gets going and the reputed commentator hailed the batter for his panache at the crease.

“When he bats, he bats extremely beautifully. He was batting well on the 10th as well and he did that on the 11th too. He timed the acceleration properly and took the team beyond 350.”

“He has settled the No. 4 debate for the time being. The truth is that Ishan Kishan was at No. 5 but wasn’t going to come to bat because you want to send Hardik Pandya after the 35th over. That is why you also saw KL Rahul keeping.”

India will take on Sri Lanka on Tuesday in their next match.