He explained the viral reaction by sharing details of his conversation with Virat Kohli.
It’s a rare sight of what took place during the India vs Australia Champions Trophy 2025 Semi-Final in Dubai on March 4. During India’s chase, KL Rahul was visibly frustrated at Virat Kohli for losing his wicket. The chase master was short of 16 runs from his 52nd ODI century. Rahul’s reaction soon went viral on the internet. Later, the wicketkeeper batter explained his reaction and the conversation with the star batter.
When Rahul walked in to bat, the score read 178/4 after 35 overs. Chasing Australia’s target of 265, India had enough wickets in hand with plenty of overs left. Kohli was batting with ease after striking his 74th ODI half-century. The Indian batters had to score run-a-ball to reach the final. However, the pressure was mounting given that the Aussies have often haunted Indian dreams.
Here’s what the two batters talked about during the highly intense atmosphere.
“When I walked in and when I played ten-12 balls, I told him that you’re the batter that needs to go on and be there till the end, and let me try and hit or let me try and take one chance an over,” Rahul said from his chat with Kohli. “Because we only needed six runs an over. But six runs an over on that wicket seemed like 8-8.5. So, you had to take one chance an over, one boundary or one six.
“So, I told him that I will do that and why don’t you just rotate the strike and be there because you’re the set batter and it might be harder [for me]. If you get out another batter comes, it becomes a lot harder. But yeah, he felt like it was in his range to hit and yeah, he didn’t time it well.”
Rahul was unbothered about losing his wicket but he seemed quite protective of his teammate’s record. His reaction, albeit out of frustration, was his selfless nature and concern for the senior batter. This little moment on the field was a depiction of the Indian team’s sportsmanship and unity.
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Kohli had set the stage for India’s victory before departing. Next, Hardik Pandya joined the crease to up the ante with a quickfire 28 before getting dismissed in the 48th over. When Ravindra Jadeja walked in, India needed only six runs to end the day on a high. Rahul (42 not out) capped the win with a six and let out a huge roar. The celebrations began all around the nation as India won by four wickets.
India will face the winner of the second semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa for the summit clash in Dubai on March 9.
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