'I won't lie': India batter KL Rahul opens up on batting up and down the order in ODIs

India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul acknowledged that he likes batting top of the order but is happy to get a chance to play in ODIs where he bats in middle order. Rahul's statement came after he guided India to victory with a six against Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final on Mar 4 in Dubai. Rahul batted at number six and scored 42 not out off 34 balls as India chased 265.

"Yeah, I do [enjoy batting at the top] - I mean, I won't lie," Rahul told Star Sports after the win. 

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"It's after opening the batting in Australia in Test matches [in the last series] and having to face that attack in Australia. And, you know, red-ball [cricket] is much harder. I opened the batting there and then to come here and bat low seems a bit different, but this is how I've played white-ball cricket in the last four-five years.

"I'm quite used to going up and down the order, so I'm just happy getting a chance to play in the middle and whatever role is given, I think it's really helped me understand my game a lot more and I've had to work on boundary-hitting a lot more in the last year or so, because the last ODI we played in Sri Lanka I batted at No. 6, so I knew that's where I'll be batting and [we] needed a left-hander in the top order," added the batter.

Rahul also reached 3,000-run mark during his innings and became the third fastest to do so for India in ODIs behind Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. Rahul took 78 innings to reach the milestone while Dhawan had taken 72 and Kohli 75.

With the win, India marched to Champions Trophy 2025 final - their third consecutive ICC tournament final with 2023 ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup 2024 being the other two finals.