Team India 2020 review: KL Rahul's white-ball revival leads charts in IPL-dominated year

The cricketing schedule across the world was severely affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cricketing action in India was absent for as many as seven months which is why this year the Indian team did not get to play a lot of cricket. However, if there's one Indian batsman that truly made the year 2020 his own, it's KL Rahul who had a breakout year. As the year approaches its end, let's take a look KL Rahul's resurrection as a batsman in limited-overs formats (ODIs and T20Is).

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Team India 2020 review: KL Rahul leads run-scoring charts in ODIs and T20Is

Rahul had a rather eventful year as he was asked by the team management to keep wickets during Australia's tour of India in January where the two sides competed in a three-match ODI series which the Men in Blue won 2-1. Rahul scored 146 runs across three matches at an impressive average of 48.67 and a strike-rate of 104.29 including a Player of the Match performance in the second game while batting in the middle order which was an unusual place for him to be in. Rahul's performances impressed the team management as they decided to continue with him as the first-choice wicket-keeper batsman for the New Zealand tour in February-March.

Rahul carried his blistering form in New Zealand as he ended up as the second-highest run-scorer in the ODI series with 204 runs in three games at a staggering average of 102.00. In the five-match T20I series, he went a step ahead and finished as the leading run-scorer with 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and strike-rate of 144.52. He was rightly adjudged the 'Player of the Series' for his performances in T20Is.

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During the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under, Rahul scored 93 runs in three matches and followed it up by amassing 81 runs in three T20Is. Overall, KL Rahul ended up as India's leading run-scorer in both ODIs (443 runs in 9 innings) and T20Is (404 runs in 10 innings) for 2020. On top of that, as a wicketkeeper, Rahul effected 12 dismissals (eight innings) in ODIs and 5 dismissals (eight innings) in T20Is.

Team India 2020 review: KL Rahul takes Dream11 IPL 2020 by storm with remarkable consistency

After around a six-month-long hiatus due to COVID-19, the Indian cricketers got back to action in the much-awaited Dream11 IPL 2020 in the UAE in September. Rahul was appointed as the captain of the Punjab franchise which was also his first captaincy stint in the cash-rich league. The right-hander ensured that he led his team from the front by consistently scoring runs in the tournament.

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Although his side failed to qualify for the playoffs, Rahul's consistent batting and ability to churn out runs for his team regularly earned him praises galore from the cricketing community. The Karnataka lad ended up as the leading run-getter in the tournament with a whopping 670 runs to his name in 14 matches at a brilliant average of 55.83 and strike-rate of 129.34 which included five fifties and one hundred. He also effected 10 dismissals in the competition.

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SOURCE: KL RAHUL INSTAGRAM & BCCI TWITTER