SA vs IND | Twitter in splits after KL Rahul's absurd back-of-the-bat pinball dismissal

Coming on the back of a defeat against the Proteas, the Indian side lost their openers within the first powerplay in the decider at Boland Park on Thursday. With the scorecard reading 49/2 after 7.3 overs, skipper KL Rahul followed Sai Sudharsan to the crease to stabilise the ship. He succoured Sanju Samson in a 58-run third wicket partnership before getting out in a bizarre way to Wiaan Mulder. 

Rahul was perfecting the anchorer’s role and soaked up the early pressure after the fall of a couple of wickets. However, on the fifth ball of the 19th over, he failed to judge the bounce of the surface, the unevenness of which was a question mark since the very beginning of play. 

The Indian captain failed to middle a back of a length delivery around the leg stump line and was beaten on the edge of the willow to get a thud on the pad. However, the ball rebounded off the protection gear, looping in the air to hit the back of the bat and ricochet towards Heinrich Klaasen behind the stumps. 

Although the scorecard of the match would suggest a caught out dismissal, the fashion of falling in the cob was something unusual. All in all, the overall process of getting out felt like a game of pinball where the ball strikes and rebounds haphazardly and Twitterati was quick to draw the comparisons.

Feel sad for KL!

#KLRahul 21(35) run banakar hue out #SAvsIND pic.twitter.com/UFvY0V28mO

— niteesh pratap singh (@niteeshprataps1) December 21, 2023

What?

Lowde ka Kohli and Rohit and kl Rahul ko out karo t20 World Cup se. And add Samson

— ClassY (@classygirl_y) December 21, 2023

Bad luck hunting!

Very unfortunate way for KL Rahul to get out but he's gone for 21



101-3#SAvIND

— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) December 21, 2023

Hahaha!

Lo bhai ho gya defense ? 😂 Bhai itna defensive ho jaata h ki khud to out hota h team ka run rate v leke jaata h

— Ashish (@Ashish100392) December 21, 2023

Easy boy!

KL Rahul bro, out hone ka tarika thoda casual hain.

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) December 21, 2023

Lol! Tilak?

Probably he's following captain KL Rahul

— Smriti (@ShilpaShrawat) December 21, 2023

Yeah! Got you.

Anyone having a hard time is welcomed

under kl rahul's captaincy@IamSanjuSamson @klrahul 🫶

— ساقب ابن رسول (@thenameissaquib) December 21, 2023

Antey sirr adhi...

First antav enti babu akkada after dhoni ante 😴

— DEVARA𝕏 (@Deepu99043077) December 21, 2023

No please forget it!

What is the score of Mr KL today??



Leading from the front..



Useless looser

— Cricket Lover (@Khirodchpanda) December 21, 2023