Relief. Redemption. Rahul

The 32-year-old rises to the occasion in knockouts, proves why he is one of the best middle-order batters in the world

- GOMESH S @ Chennai

When KL Rahul said he was s***ing himself — in conversation with the broadcaster after the final in the middle at the Dubai International Stadium, he was being serious. Not in the literal sense, but mentally. For he knows what it feels to not hold his own in a summit clash. He knows what it is like to go into a shell and watch a global title fall through his hands.

He had been there before. In fact, on multiple occasions. As replacement opener in the 2019 Men's ODI World Cup semifinal, as the opener in 2021 and 2022 Men's T20 World Cup and more recently as middle-order keeper-batter at the Narendra Modi Stadium on the dreaded afternoon of November 19, 2023. While every single one of them would have hurt, the last one perhaps was the most painful. If he was given a chance to go back and change one thing, the thing that he regrets the most, it would be that evening where he struggled to get going and made 66 of 107 balls.