KL Rahul's reverse sweep six off James Neesham leaves fans awestruck

India and New Zealand locked horns in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Seddon Park. Post an awe-inspiring show in the T20I series, all eyes were on the Men in Blue to replicate their heroics in the ODI series too. And India duly obliged to the request.

Virat Kohli and Co. were put to bat first after New Zealand won the toss and the absence of Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan duo was a blessing in disguise for Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal, who received their ODI caps ahead of the match. However, both the players failed to capitalize the opportunity as they walked back to the pavilion after stitching a 50-run opening stand.

However, the trio of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul steadied India’s ship by delivering impressive knocks in the middle. Skipper Kohli, flaunting his consistency, smashed yet another half-century to stay for a prolonged time in the middle with Shreyas Iyer. Iyer also rose to the scene by notching his maiden ton in ODIs after the departure of Kohli. Stitching his knock around 11 fours and a six, the Mumbai-born batsman set the stage for Team India to cruise to the 300-run mark.

KL Rahul continues his run-scoring spree

Meanwhile, KL Rahul– continuing his sublime form– proved yet again why he has now transformed into an indispensable asset of the Indian side. The team management’s decision of demoting KL Rahul to No.5 raised many eyebrows but the Karnataka batsman, who is in the form of his life, continued his run-scoring spree by scoring an unbeaten knock of 88 runs off 64 deliveries.

Rahul’s explosive innings comprised 6 enthralling sixes– one of which he hit towards the third man by hitting a bizarre reverse sweep. In the 48th over bowled by James Neesham, Rahul attempted to go for the maximum by resorting to a reverse sweep. The ball easily cruised over the boundary rope, leaving the fans awestruck by Rahul’s innovation and timing.

On the back of individual batting performances, India sailed to a mammoth total of 347/4 in the first innings. Considering the bowling force which Virat Kohli and Co. possesses, it will undoubtedly be an uphill task for the hosts to achieve the target of 348 runs. Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be steering India’s pace battery with an objective to scalp early breakthroughs for their side.

Here’s the shot:

FREAKISH! pic.twitter.com/NlfUGXdDcD

— Divyanshu (@MSDivyanshu) February 5, 2020