Former India player Sanjay Bangar has lauded KL Rahul for scoring a responsible century in the second ODI against New Zealand. He highlighted that hundreds while batting at No. 5 are extremely special, pointing out that players like Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have enjoyed great success at that position in the past.
Rahul scored an unbeaten 92-ball 112 as India set New Zealand a 285-run target in the second ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday, January 14. However, his knock went in vain as the visitors achieved the target with seven wickets and 15 deliveries to spare.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Bangar replied in the affirmative when asked whether Rahul had played one of his finest innings at No. 5.
“Without a doubt, because hundreds at No. 5 are extremely special, especially for middle-order players. In earlier times, Yuvraj Singh was very successful here. Then Suresh Raina came. He contributed very well,” he said.
The former India batting coach pointed out that the wicketkeeper-batter had to bat a little conservatively in Wednesday’s game.
“When you come at No. 5, and I am especially happy about the fact that when you have batting till No. 7 only, Harshit Rana comes at No. 8, you need to restrain your batting. That’s why there was a question whether the partnership between KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja was slightly slow,” Banagar observed.
Bangar added that Rahul had to delay his big shots as four top-order batters had fallen relatively cheaply.
“However, in 50-over cricket, you cannot say that a run-a-ball knock will come in all phases. When the pitch is slightly slow and when all your four big-scoring top-order players have gotten out, you have to restrain yourself a little. KL Rahul showed that restraint. He could have pressed the accelerator whenever he wished, but he had to delay his assault,” he elaborated.
India were reduced to 118/4 after 23.3 overs, with Rohit Sharma (24 off 38), Shubman Gill (56 off 53), Shreyas Iyer (8 off 17) and Virat Kohli (23 off 29) returning to the pavilion. KL Rahul then added 73 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (27 off 44) to stabilize the innings before adopting a more aggressive approach in the last few overs.
“He knows how to manage himself” – Sanjay Bangar on KL Rahul’s workload management in IND vs NZ 2026 2nd ODI
![KL Rahul struck 11 fours and a six during his unbeaten 112-run knock. [P/C: BCCI/X]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2026/01/27065-17684601749264-1920.jpg)
In the same discussion, Sanjay Bangar was asked about KL Rahul’s running between the wickets and power-hitting in the end.
“He conserved himself as well. He increased his running pace when it was required and conserved his energy when it was not required. He has been playing international cricket for such a long time. So he knows how to manage himself,” he responded.
The former India all-rounder praised the 33-year-old for managing his workload brilliantly.
“He now has a different responsibility of wicketkeeping as well. We talk about bowlers’ workload management, but if a player who wasn’t a wicketkeeper earlier is managing his workload brilliantly, I think that is another aspect which we really have to appreciate,” Bangar observed.
KL Rahul scored only 24 runs off the first 36 deliveries he faced. He smashed 88 runs off his next 56 balls to take India to a fighting total, which, however, didn’t prove enough in the end.
Edited by Kartik Iyer