KL Rahul the new boss in Virat Kohli’s yard as India break free of familiar old rut in World Cup opener

Shortly after Rohit Sharma took over as India’s ODI captain in November of 2021, he straightaway addressed the elephant in the room.

Rohit being Rohit, did not beat around the bush. Unlike his predecessor Virat Kohli, whose ’45 minutes of bad cricket’ analogy received mixed reactions after India were knocked out in the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup, Rohit cutting straight to the point was a breath of fresh air.

“I want the middle order to be ready for 10/3 situation,” he had said. Succeeding Kohli as India captain wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, and for a substantial duration, Rohit confronted the challenging reality as India grappled with setbacks, failing to reach last year’s Asia Cup final and enduring a shock series defeat against Bangladesh. But almost two years later, things seem to be falling in place… brick by brick.

On Sunday, just two overs into the Indian innings, haunting memories of Old Trafford, Champions Trophy 2017 and the T20 World Cup 2021 came surging back. Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer, all were dismissed for ducks. This was even more disheartening than the CT ’17 and WC ’19, where the top order had at least managed to get off the mark.

At 2/3, the 200-run target looked as big as 270-280. In a surreal coincidence, the giant screen displayed 5/3 in 3.1 overs, exactly mirroring India’s dire situation four years earlier in Manchester against New Zealand. We all remember what unfolded back then – the team’s failure to recover from the early loss of wickets cost India the World Cup, a theme that set a gloomy precedent.

However, against Australia, things were poised to take a different turn. You just had that feeling in the air when KL Rahul joined Kohli. After keeping wicket for 50 overs in the sweltering heat of Chennai, in 45 minutes, KL Rahul had to put on a different pair of gloves and pads, entrusted with the responsibility of reviving India’s innings with the chase master.

And as it turned out, in an ultimate show of grit and resilience, he out-batted Kohli to hand India a famous win. While this Indian team typically prioritises collective achievements over individual records, Rahul unreservedly pursued a century – a fact he openly acknowledged after the match. His innings deserved one, even if it came at the cost of a few extra deliveries. He was that good.

More than 400 runs from 7 innings at a mind-boggling average of 100.50. These are Rahul’s crushing numbers since his comeback in the Asia Cup. From being the man people loved to pick on – ask Venkatesh Prasad – to becoming India’s best No. 5 batter, this is what redemption in its sweetest form looks like.

The numerous injuries, surgeries, captaincy debates and the endless strike-rate conversations, Rahul has shunned all the noise surrounding him. His recent scores at No. 4 and 5 are the closest one will come to matching peak Kohli – the era from 2016 to 2018 – and fittingly, on this night, Rahul outshone his partner to dish out an absolute masterclass in batting.

Before all Kohli fans draw the swords, hear me out. His knock of 85 was just as crucial. The manner in which his brain works in a chase is for scientists to figure out. But in terms of sheer brilliance, Rahul took the cake with a chanceless inning.

Besides the perilous top-edge scare he survived on 12, Kohli found himself flirting with danger on a couple of occasions, particularly when luring his bat towards that treacherous zone just outside off stump. Even after coping a jarring blow on the helmet by Mitchell Starc, Kohli displayed his trademark audacity by attempting to take on the fiery bowler, reminiscent of the carnage he unleashed on Jofra Archer earlier this year during the IPL.

Amid all the preachy messages on Instagram and the philosophical statements, deep down Kohli possesses shades of his brash self. But the bigger picture was that he did not give Australia a single whiff despite those early bouts of lack in concentration.

Yet, there stood Rahul, exuding a level of confidence and precision that could rival the great Glenn McGrath in his prime. His crunching cover drives and the calculated strategy of taking on Adam Zampa marked the moment when Australia’s last glimmer of hope began to fade. Zampa, the sole specialist spinner in Australia’s line-up and a perpetual thorn in India’s eyes with his 34 wickets in 22 ODIs, found himself humbled as Rahul unleashed an array of exquisite late cuts. Among the myriad of drives Rahul executed against Australia’s fast bowlers, one particular moment stood out. It wasn’t a power-packed stroke, but a delicate defensive push that skated past Mitchell Starc and a diving long-on fielder before finding the boundary. This shot summed up Rahul’s innings – full of class and panache.

During Rahul’s career, there have been moments where he has frustrated, tested the patience of fans, and even border-lining boring – recall, for instance, his display against Hong Kong during the Asia Cup last year. But the current version of Rahul is nothing short of a revelation, harkening back to his most unrestrained, almost uninhibited self of 2018. That era was a golden phase in Rahul’s career, where emerged as an electrifying opener. But even then, some of his most exciting innings came from No. 4. He blazed away to 101 against England in Manchester, and a heartbreaking 110 vs West Indies at Lauderhill – the game where MS Dhoni failed to score 2 off the last ball. There too, Rahul was down on his knees… but for a different altogether.