KL Rahul Goes Past Ravi Shastri, Kris Srikkanth In Elite List After Leading India To Win Over Australia

KL Rahul, on Friday (September 22), led India to an impressive victory over Australia in the first ODI at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The Men in Blue thrashed the visitors by five wickets to take the lead in the three-match series.

Earlier this year, KL Rahul was sacked as the vice-captain of the side but has been given the captaincy duties once again in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Both Rohit and Pandya along with Virat Kohli and Kuldeep Yadav have been rested for the first two ODIs of the series.

KL Rahul led the team from the very front. While he did miss an easy run-out chance, he made amends for it with an unbeaten fifty. Asked to bat first, Australia were all out for 276 with Mohammed Shami picking up a five-wicket haul. For Australia, veteran opener David Warner was the top run-scorer with 52 runs.

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In reply, India chased down the total with ease thanks to half-centuries from openers Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. KL Rahul ended the match in style by hitting Sean Abbott for a four and a six.

KL Rahul creates milestone:

KL Rahul has achieved a milestone in his career after leading India to a win over Australia in Mohali. It was India’s first ODI win over Australia in Mohali in 27 years. Not only that, KL Rahul has also moved former captains Ravi Shastri and Kris Srikkanth to an elite list.

The wicketkeeper-batsman now has more wins in ODIs as a captain than Shastri and Srikkanth. Both former captains led India to 4 wins in ODIs. On the other hand, KL Rahul now has 5 wins in 8 games as a captain. The right-handed batsman first led India in the 50-over format against South Africa last year. Later, he led the team in Zimbabwe too.

With Rohit Sharma not available for the second ODI too, KL Rahul will be looking to add more wins to his tally. A win in the upcoming game will also see India take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. After the series concludes, both teams will participate in the upcoming World Cup.