New Delhi: India’s batsman KL Rahul's poor run continued in the semi-finals against England in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday. He registered a string of low scores of 4, 9, and 9 in the first three matches. However, he followed up with two half-centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
But in the crucial clash against England, he only scored five runs. Fans across the world criticized Rahul for his poor performance. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan shared his views on Rahul and said that he was expecting Rahul will perform against England.
"He started badly. After that, when he scored two half-centuries, they definitely came against teams where you expect runs, I felt another half-century was about to come, the form is about to come. But this has been a problem with KL Rahul for a long time. When you watch him bat, you feel he is technically fantastic, but I feel when it comes to being tough on the mental front, he doesn't back himself there. We have spoken about his strike rate earlier," Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports after the match.
"When he comes back from injury, his initial movement is probably late. Here also both his feet were in the air. If he wanted, he could have given himself room and played the cut shot. He has all the ability against both pace and spin but if you are slightly soft at the top, it makes a huge impact on your cricket," he added.
India batted first and scored 168 runs in 20 overs. Virat Kohli yet again starred with the bat and scored a brilliant half-century. Hardik Pandya too played a blinder as he made 63 runs in just 33 balls. Opener KL Rahul once again failed to deliver as he got out after scoring just 5 runs.
In reply, England openers Buttler and Hales starred with the bat and led England to a facile win. England will now lock horns against Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
England will be playing against Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday.