IND vs NZ 2nd ODI: Former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Ian Smith were seen lauding India's KL Rahul, who smashed his 8th ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday. Shastri praised Rahul's brilliant knock and said that he should get all the credit for turning the tide in their favour as the team was reeling at 118/4 when he came in to bat. The pitch slowed down, and the ball became softer, and that's when Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja stitched a brilliant partnership.

“When he came, it wasn’t easy. To do it the way he did, I think full credit. He came at number five today, but India were 118 for four at one stage when Virat got out. The pitch had slowed up a bit. The ball was a little older and softer, and two newcomers had come to the crease. Jadeja and Jadeja were both on zero, you know, when that partnership started. And then once he reached about 30 or 40, you could see the fluency. He started opening up and played some terrific shots," Ravi Shastri was heard as saying in a video shared by BCCI.

Smith also lauded Rahul and called him an intelligent cricketer who performs well under pressure. He talked about Rahul's versatility and how he can accelerate his innings.

ALSO READ: Bangladeshi Players vs BCB Over Director's 'India Agent' Remarks; Cricketers Boycott BPL Match

“He’s a very mature cricketer. He handles the situation well. Seen him open so many times. Seen him bat at six and we’ve seen him bat in between. He’s a brilliant cricketer, and he’s got all the shots, and he knows exactly when to release the brakes," Ian Smith said.

Rahul came in to bat when the hosts were reeling at 115/3. But he batted for almost 30 overs, where he scored a brilliant knock of 112 runs off 92 balls, in which he had smashed 12 fours and a six.

ALSO READ: BCB Assures Action On Director M Nazmul Islam Over His 'Indian Agent' Slur Against Tamim Iqbal

He does have a brilliant record against the Kiwis in this format, as he has scored 469 runs after playing in 10 matches at a strike rate of more than 111, which includes two tons and a 50. His highest individual score was 112*.