T20 World Cup: Fans express unhappiness with KL Rahul, say need Shaw or Dhawan as opener

India on Thursday locked horns against the Netherlands in their second match of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. India defeated the Netherlands by a huge margin of 56 runs with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav playing a match-winning role with the bat. However, all eyes were on India's vice-captain KL Rahul, who has been struggling for form since his return to the national setup from a groin injury. Rahul once again failed to make a significant contribution while batting at the top of the order, getting dismissed for 9 off 12 balls.  

Netizens not happy with KL Rahul's performance

Netizens have taken to social media to express their unhappiness with Rahul and his poor batting form with some even demanding his exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad. One individual went as far as to call for the inclusion of Prithvi Shaw or Shikhar Dhawan as Rahul's replacement in the squad. Earlier, Rahul failed to score in India's opening match of the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan. He was dismissed by Pakistan speedster Naseem Shah for 4 off 8 balls. 

India vs Netherlands

As far as the match is concerned, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). India posted a total of 179/2 in 20 overs courtesy of some power-packed batting from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav. While Sharma scored 53 off 39 balls before being dismissed by Fred Klaassen, Kohli and Yadav remained unbeaten at 62 and 51 runs, respectively. 

Kohli smashed three boundaries and two sixes in his 62-run knock with Yadav hitting seven fours and one maximum in his 25-ball 51 runs innings. 

In the second innings, Indian bowlers wreaked havoc as they restricted the Netherlands to 123/9 in 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Arshdeep Singh picked two wickets each for India, while Mohammed Shami scalped one to his name. None of the Dutch batters were able to breach the 20-run mark. Yadav was named the player of the match for his quickfire knock of 51 off 25 balls. The Indian team has now moved to the top of the points table in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage with two wins in two matches.

Image: AP