KL Rahul played a slow knock of 51* runs off 56 balls against South Africa in the first T20I.
Aakash Chopra came out in support of KL Rahul after India’s vice-captain was criticized for his cautious batting approach in the tricky conditions at Greenfield Stadium in the first T20I against South Africa.
There was a lot of swing in the air and bounce on the Greenfield Stadium pitch, as South Africa lost five wickets for just 9 runs inside three overs and went on to post only 106/8 on the board in their 20 overs against India.
Chasing the paltry target, India lost Rohit Sharma (0-0) and Virat Kohli (3) after the powerplay.
After that, Rahul opted for a safety-first approach in tricky conditions, and he scored 51 runs off 56 balls, as well as added 93* runs with Suryakumar Yadav (50 runs off 33 balls) to take Team India to the win in the 17th over against South Africa with 8 wickets in hand on Wednesday.
However, after the match, Rahul was criticized for playing a slow knock, but Chopra believes that the opener played a top-quality knock and he was right to play cautiously in the tricky conditions.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “People are just blasting Rahul for his knock, I can't understand why. If you are chasing only 107, and the conditions are difficult, why will the batter look to hit? It is okay to score ugly runs as well, it takes courage and guts.”
He signed off by saying, “Had he decided to start striking the ball and got out instead of settling, then that would have been irresponsible. He batted really well, in my opinion: respected the conditions and the situation and played accordingly. So please cut him some slack.”