KL Rahul won plenty of hearts after winning the match for India in Wellington — by giving away what he had just won. The India wicketkeeper-batter handed the smartphone he received as the Game Changer of the Match award to a member of the ground staff after India’s four-run DLS win over New Zealand in the second ODI on Saturday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of the moment on X, captioned: “Big player. Bigger heart. An act of kindness and pure KLass.” In the video, the staff member, clearly taken aback, says: “Well, he just gave me his phone. I am a bit shocked. It was very kind of him to give it to me. I wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure.” Rahul can be seen smiling at her as she thanks him with a nod, and the clip has since been widely shared by fans praising the gesture.
It was a fitting end to a tough day’s work for Rahul. On a pitch that offered plenty of help to the bowlers, India had slipped to 47 for 4 in pursuit of 135 in a match reduced to 47 overs a side by rain. Shubman Gill fell for a golden duck, Virat Kohli managed just seven, and Rohit Sharma made 23. Rahul, batting with the calm that has become his trademark in a crisis, stayed unbeaten on 26 off 38 balls, hitting two sixes, and steadied the innings alongside captain Shreyas Iyer, who made 30.
By the time rain returned to end the contest, India were 113 for 7 in 26 overs — four runs ahead of the DLS par score — and the win gave them a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Gurnoor Brar, whose career-best 4 for 30 had bowled New Zealand out for 134, was named Player of the Match, but it was Rahul’s unbeaten hand and his gesture afterwards that dominated the conversation the next morning.
The 33-year-old has made a habit of standing up when India wobble in this series, and his composure in Wellington once again underlined why the team management trusts him in the middle order. For the ground staff member at the venue, though, the memory of the day will be rather more personal: a World Cup winner’s match award, handed over with a smile and no fuss at all.
India will look to seal the series in the third ODI in Hamilton on Tuesday, November 10, with New Zealand needing a win to stay alive.
Related: India Edge New Zealand by Four Runs on DLS After Rain Ends Wellington ODI
Related: Virat Kohli Warns Young Fans After Plastic Bats Thrown Onto Field During Wellington ODI
