Rohit Sharma was gone, Virat Kohli was gone, team India needed someone who could stan on the pitch for a long time. During the moment of crisis KL Rahul stepped into the field and smashed a century in IND vs NZ 2nd ODI match in Rajkot.
Indian middle-order batsman KL Rahul emerged as a savior at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. In the second ODI against New Zealand, he not only anchored the Indian innings with a blistering century but also led the team to a fighting total. KL Rahul was promoted after Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer failed.
A crucial hundred by KL Rahul when the team was struggling
Rahul, who came to bat at number 6 in the first ODI, was sent to number 5. He too lived up to the team’s expectations and formed small partnerships with the lower order. Rahul completed his century in 87 balls. He completed his 8th century of his ODI career with a six. Rahul played an unbeaten inning of 112 runs in 92 balls. In this inning, Rahul hit 11 fours and 1 six. Thanks to this inning of Rahul, India scored 284 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs.
India, who lost the toss and elected to bat first, got off to a slow start. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill managed just 10 runs in the first five overs. However, they increased the run rate in the second half of the innings. Rohit was dismissed after regaining his momentum. He scored 24 runs off 38 balls. Captain Shubman Gill (56) was also caught out after scoring a half-century.
A magnificent strike to get to the three figure mark, @klrahul was an absolute delight to watch 🫡🫡#TeamIndia #INDvNZ #2ndODI @IDFCfirstbank pic.twitter.com/S5ECgG49XQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 14, 2026
Virat Kohli (23) and Shreyas Iyer (8) also failed in the middle order. Consequently, Rahul was promoted to No. 5. He added 73 runs off 88 balls with Ravindra Jadeja. He then shared partnerships of 57 with Nitish Reddy, 8 with Harshit Rana, and 28 with Mohammed Siraj.
