KL Rahul consoles crying Indian fan immediately after hitting match-winning six against Australia: 'Wounds are healing'

When India needed four runs off 12 balls, KL Rahul charged down the track to Glenn Maxwell and hit the tossed-up delivery deep into the stands. A roar followed. India had beaten Australia, the same side that inflicted immense pain on them on the night of the ODI World Cup final at home barely 15 months ago. India had beaten Australia last year to knock them out of the T20 World Cup, but it was in a different format. The wounds of the 50-over format were still fresh. A fan who breached security to come near the playing are immediately after India beat Australia by four wickets to advance to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final summed it all. KL Rahul consoles crying Indian fan(@AwaaraHoon/ X)

An emotional fan with tears rolling down his eyes ran in to hug KL Rahul, who made no attempts to push him away. For he knew what it meant to every Indian cricket. Rahul consoled the young man with a warm hug like he had done Team India when Virat Kohli uncharacteristically threw his wicket away for 84.

Visuals of Rahul hugging the crying fan went viral after India's victory.

After the match, former India opener Abhinav Mukund said, “The wounds (of the 2023 ODI World Cup) are heading.”

Chase master Kohli at it again

Kohli hit only five boundaries in his disciplined knock as he focused more on risk-free accumulation of runs after India slumped to 43-2 in the eighth over.

It was similar to his match-winning hundred against Pakistan, which contained seven fours.

"For me, it's about understanding the conditions and preparing my game accordingly," Kohli said after collecting the player-of-the-match award.

"(It's about) just rotating strike, because partnerships on this pitch are the most important thing."

A modern master, Kohli's impeccable game awareness has secured many a successful chase for his team and the 36-year-old said he never forced his style on a pitch.

"It all depends on the conditions. The pitch tells me how the cricket needs to be played, and then I just switch on and play accordingly."

It was another of those matches in which Kohli regularly found gaps and ran hard between the wickets to guide India close to their target without taking any risks.

"I wasn't feeling desperate. I was pretty happy knocking ones around," he said.

"When, as a batsman, you start taking pride in hitting those singles into the gaps, that's when you know you're playing good cricket, and then you know you're in for a big partnership."

For him, the secret to accomplishing a chase was to take the game deep while preserving wickets.

"It's all about pressure. If you go deep into the innings, the opposition usually gives in," he said.

"It's about controlling your impulses, knowing the number of overs left. You know when you can turn the game around."

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