Virender Sehwag lauds KL 'Kadak Ladka' Rahul for his enterprising knock

Virender Sehwag came forward to hail KL Rahul who played a brilliant cameo in first ODI against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Wellington on Wednesday. He had come to bat at number five as youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal opened innings for India. However, that did t affect his concentration as he took New Zealand bowlers to cleaners.

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Sehwag's invative way of describing KL Rahul

Taking to micro-blogging site, Virender Sehwag described dashing batsman as 'Kadak Ladka Rahul' and n mentioned 'Naam toh suna hi hoga' which is a famous dialogue of a Bollywood megastar. Meanwhile, former Indian vice-captain also heaped praise on centurion Shreyas Iyer as well.

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India score 347/4

Indian batsmen showed a ruthless intent after being asked to bat first by New Zealand skipper Tom Latham. Young openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal added 50 runs for opening wicket. Even though duo were dismissed in quick succession, skipper Virat Kohli added impetus to Indian innings with a very good half-century. After Kohli's dismissal, onus was on KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Iyer went on register his maiden ODI ton. 

He was dismissed for 103. neless, Rahul and Kedar Jadhav hit some big shots at backend of innings as India finished ir innings at 347/4. Karnataka batsman remained unbeaten on a 64-ball 88 at a strike rate of 137.50 which included three boundaries and six maximums. 

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New Zealand hold ir nerves

In reply, New Zealand began ir run-chase confidently with an 85-run opening partnership. Veteran batsman Ross Taylor brought up his 21st hundred in ODIs by scoring 109* from just 84 balls. Apart from Taylor, Henry Nicholls (78), and Tom Latham (69) also contributed ir part with bat in New Zealand’s successful run-chase.

two teams will w collide in  second game of three-match series on February 8. match will be played at Eden Park in Auckland and action will commence at 7:30 AM IST. This is a must-win contest for India in order to stay alive in series. third and final ODI will be played on February 11 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

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