Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar hailed KL Rahul’s calmness at the crease in the final of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday. The Men in Blue lifted their third Champions Trophy crown after registering a four-wicket win.
Rahul added the finishing touches in the run-chase of 252, scoring an unbeaten 34 off 33 balls with the help of one four and a six. The flamboyant batter added a crucial alliance of 38 runs with Hardik Pandya, who scored a run-a-ball 18.
Rahul had also scored a pivotal knock of 42 runs off 34 balls in the semifinal against Australia. The wicket-keeper batter amassed 140 runs in four innings of the tournament at an average of 140 and a strike rate of 97.90.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “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.
Manjrekar reckons Rahul’s mental game is crucial to his success as he can sometimes get bog down at one end.
“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,” Manjrekar went on to add.
On the other hand, Rahul admitted he was feeling nervous towards the end but was delighted to take his team over the line in the final.
“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.”
Rahul will be seen in action for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL.
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