IND vs AUS, World Cup Final: KL Rahul earns praise from Uthappa ...

World Cup Final: India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul played a gritty knock of 66 runs against Australia in the summit clash. Aakash Chopra and Robin Uthappa hailed the batter for his mature innings.

KL Rahul scored a gritty fifty in final vs Australia. (Reuters Photo)

KL Rahul scored a gritty 66 off 107 balls in the World Cup 2023 Final against Australia on Sunday, 19 November. Playing in a difficult pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Rahul tried his best to guide India out of troubled waters when Australia were dominating in the middle overs of the game.

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Rahul was able to score just one boundary in his entire innings and had to work hard against the Australia pacers, who found reverse swing on the dry wicket of the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Rahul was lauded by former India cricketers Robin Uthappa and Aakash Chopra for stepping up for the Indian team in crucial moments.

"KLASSIC KL Rahul with a gritty knock when the team needed the most. Have to convert this into a big knock and stay till the end," wrote Robin Uthappa on Twitter.

"The most trolled Indian cricketer in the last 12 months is the man standing up for the team when it mattered the most. The World Cup final. Well played, Kamaal Lajwaab Rahul," Aakash Chopra wrote after the batter's fifty.

Chopra pointed out the trolling that Rahul got after he was not able to start in the Asia Cup 2023 opener after picking up an injury late in his recovery.

KL Rahul faced a significant setback during the Indian Premier League 2023 season. On May 1, in a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rahul sustained a severe injury to his right thigh while attempting to save a boundary in Lucknow. The nature of the injury was quite serious as he later revealed that he had torn his tendon which required surgical intervention.

The injury not only affected Rahul's participation in the IPL but also ruled him out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final played at The Oval from June 7-11. Rahul underwent successful surgery later in London and was sent to recovery at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

The batter returned after being four months away from international cricket. In his first match back in the ODI format, Rahul hit a century against Pakistan and has been in tremendous form since. Rahul finished with 452 runs from 11 matches in the ODI World Cup 2023 and once again played out a sensational innings in the final of the tournament.