India wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul, who helped India win the second T20I match against New Zealand by 7 wickets, said he knew what type of innings he needed to play to bag the match for India.
Chasing a mediocre target of 133 runs at Eden Park in Auckland, India lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (11) early and hence soon got reduced to 39 for 2. But Rahul along with Shreyas Iyer stitched 86 runs for the third wicket to end hosts’ chances of making a comeback.
“I knew what I had to do, I couldn’t play the same way. I had a different responsibility. We lost Rohit and Kohli early, so I had to stay in there,” said Rahul after the match as quoted by IANS.
Rahul on Sunday scored 57 off 50 balls to help India chase down the target with 15 balls to spare. He bagged the Man of the Match award.
“The understanding of my game and reading my game has helped me to be more consistent. I always need to keep the team ahead, and what the team requires. I have come up with the right shots and the right answers. That has been my mantra over the last few games and in the T20 format,” said the Karnataka batsman.