India opener Shikhar Dhawan has lauded wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul for his quick fifty in the first ODI win over England on March 23. India made 317/5 batting first after losing the toss and restricted England to 251 to win the match by 66 runs.
Dhawan had made 98 with 11 fours and 2 sixes to his name and added 64 runs with Rohit Sharma and 105 runs with Virat Kohli, who made 56. However, the impetus to the Indian innings was given by KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya’s speedy 112*-run partnership.
Krunal Pandya made a 26-ball fifty on his ODI debut, creating a world record, and ended up making 58* in 31 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. KL Rahul, on the other hand, made 62* in 43 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. The duo helped India go past the 300-run milestone.
This was KL Rahul’s first big score after his failures in the 4 T20Is he played against England, where he had scores of 1,0, 0, and 14.
Shikhar Dhawan, the Man of the Match, has hailed Rahul's innings and mentioned that he can only grow in confidence from now on.
“It was great to see KL Rahul score a half-century. He's a class player and we all love watching him play. Failures make champion players stronger. I'm sure he's a much stronger player now. The way he came in today and helped us cross the 300-mark was great to watch.
I am sure this knock will help him gain more confidence and we will watch him bat more fluently," said Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 98 runs in the match.
The second ODI will be played on March 26 and the third and final match will be played on March 28.
