List of unique records created under KL Rahul's captaincy

KL Rahul is known to be a 'Record-friendly' captain, as several players have reached unique milestones under him. There have been small and big records created by individuals under his leadership. At the same time, there have also been team records that have been broken under his leadership. Many players scored their maiden hundreds and 200s under his captaincy. Likewise, many bowlers claimed 5 wicket hauls under his captaincy. Many batters had terrific comeback under his captaincy. No wonder why everyone would love to see KL as the captain of the Indian team.

It is quite contrasting how quickly his record changed as a captain. In his assignment as a captain in the tour of South Africa last year, India lost an important Test match and lost all the ODIs to be clean swept. From there, Rahul has not lost many matches as a captain and has in fact had a better record as a captain. The improvement is clearly visible and fans seem to acknowledge it as well. The decision-making of Rahul has been different as compared to his past. While he is only getting better as a captain, many reacords are being created under his captaincy.

Check out some such records created under the captaincy of the WK batter.

10. Sanju Samson's maiden ODI hundred

In the third ODI between India and South Africa, there were some batting records created by the Indians. Sanju Samson registered his maiden ton in the history of ODIs. The star batter from Kerala reached the milestone of 3-digit mark for the first time in his international career for India and continued his good run against SA in the format. The talented batter has both of his highest scores in the format against SA. On a wicket that was not easy to bat on, Samson scored a fabulous hundred and helped India to get to a total of 296 runs on the board, which was very good considering the nature of the wicket.

In the same match, Tilk Varma reached his first major milestone in ODIs. The youngster registered his maiden ODI fifty under the captaincy of KL Rahul. The talented batter scored 52 runs in 73 balls on a wicket that was gripping a lot. Spin bowlers like Keshav Maharaj and Tarbaiz Shamsi troubled the batters a lot. Tilak overcame the challenges and helped India to overcome a tricky situation. Varma assisted Samson well and helped himself to the milestone. The knock in the match would give a lot of confidence to the youngster who would be looking forward to playing many such knocks in future.

9. Bowling spells of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan in the first ODI against SA, Johannesburg 2023

In the first ODI of the same series, India won the match comfortably by 8 wickets after restricting SA to a total of just 116 runs. The spell of the young Indian pacers played a key role in the win. The likes of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan bowled very well and gave nothing from the ball to the batters of SA. In the pink ODI, the left-right combination of the two bowlers rattled the batting lineup of SA. No batter was able to score more than 35 runs in the match from SA. In the end, India ended up winning the match with a lot of balls to spare. The 2 bowlers reached to their first major milestone in the format.

Arshdeep with his left-arm pace bowling was threatening. The pacer got the ball to swing both ways, which was such a joy to watch. He was even able to seam the ball after it became old. In his spell, Arshdeep conceded only 36 runs and claimed 5 wickets. It was his maiden 5-wicket haul in ODIs. Avesh Khan, on the other hand, bowled in good lengths and troubled the batters at every possible instance. As a first change, Khan was highly effective in the middle overs, where he gave nothing away for the batters. The right-arm pacer was rewarded for his spell, as he claimed a 4-wicket haul in the match.

8. Several records in Mohali ODI against Australia, 2023

Many records were broken in the match between India and Australia which happened earlier this year in one of the biggest stadiums of the country. India won thr match by 5 wickets under the captaincy of KL Rahul. With the ball, Mohammed Shami claimed a 5-wicket haul and impressed everyone with his seam bowling. The spell of Shami was so good that it helped India to restrict Australia to a below-par score. For the first time in 16 years, an Indian pacer claimed a fifer at home in ODIs. India chased down the targets with 5 wickets in hand. It was the first win of India against Australia in Mohali. 

The architects of the Indian win were the two openers, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Along with them, the duo of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav were able to finish the innings as well. Gaikwad registered his maiden fifty in ODIs in the match. The talented batter played some lovely drives and cut shots in his stay in the middle. Likewise, Suryakumar played a good hand and helped India to chase down the total. After several failures as a batter in the format, Yadav was finally been able to register his first fifty in ODIs in more than 2 years. The match helped India to start the series on a winning note. 

7. Several records in Indore ODI against Australia, 2023

Just a match after that in Mohali, India took on Australia in the 2nd ODI at Indore. Even in the second match of the series, a lot of records were broken. The first of them was the hundred of Shreyas Iyer. The middle-order batter was out of the side for some months due to his injury. On his comeback, Iyer struggled to get going for some matches. But in the ODI at Indore, Iyer broke the jinx and scored his first ODI hundred in more than a year. Similarly, Shubman Gill at the other end scored a hundred as well. It was his first ODI hundred against Australia. Both the knocks were appreciated by the fans. 

After the good starts provided by the duo, Suryakumar Yadav finished the innings well. He registered the fastest fifty by an Indian in ODIs against Australia. India ended up with a mammoth total of 399 runs on the board, which is their highest total in the format against the opponent currently. India successfully defended the target despite the rain interruption. With the ball, Ashwin shined and claimed his first 3-wicket haul in ODIs against Australia. India won the match and ensured a series win. Rahul became one of the fewest captains to win an ODI series against Australia in recent times.

6. Shardul Thakur's 7-wicket haul in Test cricket

Shardul Thakur has been one of the biggest match winners for India in recent times. Particularly in Test cricket, he has shown insane abilities to turn the game around from nowhere to help the side to claim matches. One of the biggest examples of this was his performance against Australia at the Gabba in 2021, which is a part of the history now. He also played a key role in India's win against England at The Oval in a year later. In early 2022, India toured SA for a Test series. India started the series on a good note by winning the first one in Centurion. India was just one win away from claiming the series.

The second match happened in Johannesburg. India lost the match as SA chased down the target, thanks to a brilliant knock from Dean Elgar. But in the match, Shardul created a history as far as the Indian bowling was concerned. Thakur became the first Indian pacer to register a 7-wicket haul on South African soil. The star pacer gave his best efforts in the match and helped India to claim the wickets in the first innings, where there was a drought for some point. The efforts of Shardul went in vain, as India lost the match and eventually the series. But it remains his best spell in Test cricket to date. 

5. Kuldeep Yadav's maiden POTM award in Test cricket

Kuldeep Yadav has been a revelation in cricket since 2022 across formats. The Chinaman spinner is such a joy to watch when on song. One such instance was his spell against Bangladesh last year, where he was brilliant with the ball. In the first Test of the series, India won against Bangladesh to claim a lead of 1-0. Kuldeep came out as a surprise for Bangladesh, as they had not anticipated him to be as good. Particularly with the bat, Yadav played a key role in India nearly batting the opponents out of the match. It was one such instance where Yadav performed with both bat and ball.

India opted to bat first on winning the toss. At one point, India was in trouble. From there, Rishabh Pant and co helped India to recover and post a good total. In the lower order, Kuldeep was useful with his contribution with the bat. But as usual, it was his spell with the ball that changed the course of the match. On a good batting surface, India was able to restrict Bangladesh to a score of 150 runs. Kuldeep claimed 5/40 with the ball. In the second innings, Kuldeep claimed 3/79 with the ball, as India won the Test match, For the first time in Test cricket, Kuldeep bagged the Player of the Match award. 

4. Ishan Kishan's ODI Double hundred

It was the third ODI of the series between India and Bangladesh. India had already lost the series with a game to go. Rohit Sharma had injured himself in the 2nd ODI and was unavailable for the 3rd ODI of the series. KL Rahul led India in his absence. With no pressure to perform in the match, India came out all guns blazing. The likes of Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli were aggressive against the Bangladesh bowlers right from the word go. Kishan, in particular, was all over the bowlers. The youngster batted so well and hit boundaries for fun. It was Kishan's day and he made full use of it. 

In his stay in the middle, Kishan played some lovely shots and hit huge boundaries. The knock od Ishan was fantastic, as he not just scored his maiden hundred in international cricket, but went on to convert it into a big one. Kishan became the 4th Indian batter to score a 200 in the format. It was a lot more special, as it was a new world record for the fastest 200 by a batter in the format. Kishan got to the milestone in just 130 balls. To date, the record remains intact, despite a couple of 200s having been scored since then. In the match, Virat played a brilliant knock as well and supported Kishan in the middle. 

3. Shubman Gill's maiden Test and ODI Tons

Shubman Gill has been a sensation in Indian cricket in the last 3 years. The youngster has been able to establish himself as an exceptional batter in ODIs. In the other two formats, Gill has not been able to do anything significant, barring the early shine, but has been in and around the side for some time now. Gill had not scored in a Test for more than 20 months since his debut. The opportunity came under the captaincy of KL Rahul. Gill scored his maiden ton in the longest format of the game against Bangladesh in December 2022. It helped India win the match and register crucial points in WTC.

Before it could happen, Gill was brilliant with the bat in ODIs in the series against Zimbabwe and West Indies, which enabled him to be in the reckoning in the ODI side. In the series against WI, India played with a young squad led by KL Rahul. In one of the ODIs, Gill ended with his maiden ODI hundred. The knock was first of the lot of hundreds that are yet to come for the youngster. Since then, Gill has been able to 5 more hundreds against strong teams like NZ, Australia, Sri Lanka, and others. It was one such instance where the interesting luck of KL helped one of his teammates to get to their milestone.

2. Cheteshwar Pujara's comeback Test hundred

Cheteshwar Pujara has a tough time in Test cricket in the period from February 2019 to November 2022. In that period, he could not score a hundred in the longest format of the game even once and often got out after getting started. It was frustrating and led to many losses of the Indian team. India lost WTC 2021 in the process. They lost the series against SA with his bad performance. Following it, both Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the Indian side. Pujara went back to domestic cricket, county cricket, and made his return to the side in the series against England. But he had to wait a bit longer to score a 100.

In the series against Bangladesh, the stars aligned to provide him with the moment. He finally scored his hundred in the format after nearly 45 months, which is a lot of time. India won the Test match and eventually the series. Since then, he has not scored a hundred and is not among the reckoning in the Tetst squad. Before the series, india took part in the Asia Cup 2022. In the tournament, KL Rahul led India in the match against Pakistan in the group stage, Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Indian bowler to claim a fifer in the T20 format of the Asia Cup, which was very unique. 

1. Virat Kohli's comeback hundreds 

Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters of All-time. Many rate him as the greatest ever cricketer. But even the greatest go through some rough patch. Virat had a worst patch for more than 2 years and was criticized a lot by his critics for his bad performances. The struggle which started in Test cricket rubbed on to his form in ODIs and affected his T20 batting as well. It was more than 1000 days since he had scored a 100. The moment finally came as he scored his maiden T20I hundred against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022. KL Rahul had led India in the match.

Rohit was absent in the match and India won the match. But the highlight of the match was the knock of Virat with the bat. He scored 122 runs and became the batter with the highest score for India in T20Is (Which belongs to Ruturaj Gaikwad now). It was his first hundred in international cricket in quite some time. After thw knock, he has been able to score 7 more hundreds, which shows how good he has been since then. Later in the year, he helped Kishan to get to his 200. In the same match, Virat registered his first ODI hundred in more than 1000 days, which marked the end of another unwanted streak.