Former India batter turned veteran commentator Sanjay Manjrekar praised KL Rahul for his steady knocks under pressure in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal and the final as well. While talking about his performance in the ICC event, Manjrekar stated that it was his mindset that was holding him back from success as well. Notably, India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9 as well.

During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said: “Very important for him because he was carrying that bogey of that final where he played a little slowly. He had that very candid interview where he said that it haunted him, hurt him. And to have these two innings – what I loved about him was the state of mind when he was chasing. He looked very comfortable. The only enemy that KL Rahul has is not the bowler but his own state of mind. And he looked very relaxed and he was very happy to just carry on. He has the big shots at his beck and call. So, all that was great to see.”

Speaking after the 2025 Champions Trophy final, KL Rahul added that he was nervous during the middle of India’s chase. Team India slipped
from 105-0 to 122-3 while chasing 252. Rahul, however, guided the team home, with Axar Patel (29) and Hardik Pandya (18).

Reflecting on the win, he told Star Sports: “I don’t think I can say this on camera, but I was s****ing myself at the end. But we still had a couple of batters to come, so I was confident that we could get over the line. But in moments like this and big games, it’s more about holding your composure, which we all know about. Yeah, happy to win this and happy to get over the line this time.”