At the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Team India fell short of defeating Bangladesh by a mere wicket in the opening match of the three-match ODI series. After taking a brief break from the recently finished New Zealand series, KL Rahul rejoined the team and expressed his opinion on the role that his team had given him.
Against the Bangla Tigers, the Men in Blue had an underwhelming batting performance thanks to star wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul’s 73 runs, which helped the team reach a total of 186 in 41.2 overs. The batter who entered the game at position no. 5 stated that the management had chosen him for the position after careful consideration and provided an explanation for Rishabh Pant’s exclusion.
“We have not played many ODIs in the past 6-7 months but if you look from 2020-’21, I have kept wickets and batted at four. I have been assigned this role by the team. I don’t exactly know the reason for (Rishabh) Pant’s release. The medical team will be able to tell why Pant was released,” told KL Rahul after the match. Speaking about the game, the wicketkeeper-batter said that the opposition side fought all the way to the end, which is how they managed to win by a narrow margin.
“You can expect the unexpected in this game. Such games keep happening, that’s cricket. The game is never won till the last ball. Mehidy’s innings and the way they fought till the end made the difference. One or two dropped chances hurt us too,” he added. “But yeah, they played well. Bangladesh fought really hard today. We made some mistakes which we need to learn from and come back strongly. He (Mehidy) took risks and found the boundary. Bangladesh are playing at home and they are good here. They pose a tough challenge,” concluded Rahul.