The Indian opener KL Rahul was subjected to a flurry of criticism on social media from Indian cricket team fans for his below-par batting approach in the Asia Cup 2022 game against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31). KL Rahul scored 36 on Wednesday night but it came off 39 balls despite smashing a couple of sixes. Courtesy his approach, India failed to witness a fiery start and it increased pressure on his partner Rohit Sharma who was forced to play big shots and eventually lost his wicket.
When KL Rahul got out with a strike rate of below 100, fans took to Twitter to post their views on his innings, some saying that he plays just for numbers, while others called him a ‘statpadder’.
Here are how the fans expressed disappointment on social media:
2️⃣nd blow for 🇮🇳, KL Rahul departs after a solid 36 off 39
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 31, 2022
Is there something in the pitch that is not visible. Simply can't fathom this approach especially from KL Rahul. #IndvsHkg
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) August 31, 2022
Ye bhai Zimbabwe series se hee bahar nahi aa raha. #KLRahul
— Yogesh (@YogeshNagar3) August 31, 2022
Kl Rahul as an opener in T20Is is something I never liked! I would rather prefer opening with Rishabh Pant even if that means a lot of risk! #INDvHK #AsiaCup2022
— Mohsin Kamal (@64MohsinKamal) August 31, 2022
You can’t have both KL and Virat in the playing XI for T20Is. #AsiaCup2022
— Pratyush Raj (@pratyush93_raj) August 31, 2022
KL Rahul on work that too against Hong Kong, setting such level of bars for upcoming youngsters 😳 😱
KL Rahul the true ambassador of Academy 🥰❤️ #INDvHK— KL Rahul's TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) August 31, 2022
KL Rahul has scored 16(20) at the end of Powerplay against Hongkong. No hate against him, but literally he doesn't even try to hit ball for boundaries. NO WORDS.
— David (@CricketFreakD) August 31, 2022
India managed to post a huge score of 192/2 on the board on the back of some mad hitting from Suryakumar Yadav and a half-century from Virat Kohli, who took his time at the start but went gung-ho in the last 4 overs.
WATCH – Virat Kohli Pays Respect To Suryakumar Yadav After An Epic 68-run knock
Not the best of innings, Kohli was scratchy at the start of his inning, but there were some brilliant shots in between both vs spin and pacers. Kohli went back unbeaten on 59 off 44 balls that included 1 four and 3 boundaries. But the best batter for India on Wednesday night was Suryakumar Yadav as he amassed 68 off just 26 balls that included 6 fours and as many sixes each.
The last 4 sixes from Suryakumar Yadav came in the last over the innings in which he smashed a total of 26 runs. His knock came at a strike rate of 261.54 and was one of the best T20 innings he has played.
WATCH – Bullseye From Ravindra Jadeja Send Back Hong Kong Skipper Cheaply
Hong Kong had a tough task to chase down 193 to win against the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal which is going to be a big ask. If India wins tonight, they will qualify for the Super 4s, where they are expected to meet Pakistan again on September 4 if the men in green also win the game against Hong Kong.
