If KL Rahul batted at 3 or opened the batting, he would go on to get the hundreds: Dale Steyn

Former South African pacer and commentator Dale Steyn has heaped praise on the Indian stand-in skipper KL Rahul, who scored two impressive half-centuries, batting in the death overs against South Africa in the ongoing three-match ODI series.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, the former speedster has asserted that if KL Rahul bats in the top order, he has the best chance to convert his half-centuries into centuries quite comfortably. 

“He just knows how to do it. Again, if he batted at 3 or if he opened the batting, I am pretty certain he would also go on to get the hundreds because of the lack of deliveries faced. But those positions are for other players, and he knows what his role is within this team. And both games so far, he has played fantastic innings," Steyn said while analysing the innings on Star Sports.

"A good, handy knock set by the skipper, KL, and he led his team well in the first one, managed to up the ante when he needed to. And again today, there was a period where he went semi-slow with Jadeja. South Africa bowled well in that little transitional period there, and the last over picked up the most expensive over of the innings," he added.

While Rahul scored a 60-run knock in the first ODI, in Ranchi, he went on to score an unbeaten 66-run knock in the second ODI, in Raipur. With the series leveled at 1-1, the third ODI is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 6.

KL Rahul, who usually bats in the top order in the longest format of the game, has been tried at different positions in limited-overs cricket. Though he initially played in the top-order, he was later slotted down the order at No.5 and No.6 positions.

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