Has KL Rahul aced the middle-order role in ODIs? Stats
India beat Sri Lanka in Colombo to reach the Asia Cup 2023 final. India set up a 214-run target, batting first. They were reduced to 91/3 after openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill added 80 runs. However, KL Rahul's meticulous knock (39) on a spin-friendly knock added some substance. Rahul, who scored a century against Pakistan, has looked solid since his national return.
Why does this story matter?
Rahul, who made his name as an opener across formats, has been bolstering India's middle in ODI cricket order for a while. He plays the rescuer when the top order collapses and cashes in when the top three give a platform. Rahul, along with Shreyas Iyer, returned to India's ODI squad for the Asia Cup after recovering from long-term injuries.
Here's why Rahul replaced Iyer at number four
Iyer was the designated number-four batter for the Asia Cup. Rahul, who wasn't fully fit at that time, missed the first two matches. However, Rahul replaced Iyer minutes before the start of the Pakistan game after the latter was ruled out with a back spasm. The former, who batted at number four, made his comeback match memorable by slamming his sixth ODI century.
Rahul averages 58.66 at number four
Once back, Iyer is likely to reclaim his number four spot in India's ODI side. However, Rahul's numbers in this position aren't bad either. He averages an incredible 58.66 at number four, having slammed 352 runs from eight ODIs. In fact, India have won five of eight matches when Rahul batted at four. His average improves to 70.66 in this regard.
His ODI numbers at five
At number five, his designated position in ODIs, Rahul has racked up 781 runs from 19 matches at an average of 52.06. He owns as many as eight 50+ scores (one century) in this regard. Notably, Rahul has the best strike rate (98.73) in this position among all. India have won 11 of 18 ODIs when Rahul batted at number five.
Rahul's middle-order stats since January 2021
Rahul is the only Indian batter to have scored over 600 ODI runs batting in the middle order (number 4-7) since the start of 2021. The Indian batter owns 697 runs from 16 ODIs at an incredible average of 63.36. The tally includes a strike rate of 90.28. Two of his centuries have come in this regard. Hardik Pandya follows Rahul with 591 runs.
Most runs for India at five since January 2021
Since January 1, 2021, Rahul has had the most runs for India at number five in ODI cricket. He racked up 397 runs from 11 ODIs at an average of 49.62 in this regard. Suryakumar Yadav follows Rahul with 320 runs.
Rahul has over 2,000 runs in ODIs
In the Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan, Rahul slammed his sixth ODI ton. He also reached the landmark of 2,000 runs in the format. Rahul joined Virat Kohli as the joint third-fastest Indian batter to get the mark (53 innings). While Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings) tops the list in this regard, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sourav Ganguly jointly hold the second spot (52 innings).
