KL Rahul delivered a stunning middle-order innings, scoring an unbeaten 129 off just 87 balls in the third ODI against the West Indies at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Saturday, cementing his place in Indian cricket history.
Rahul’s innings was his ninth century in ODIs and also among the quickest hundreds he has ever scored. The right-hander hit a century off just 80 balls, his second-fastest ODI hundred. His quickest century, scored in 62 balls against the Netherlands in Bengaluru during the 2023 ODI World Cup, remains his fastest.
Rahul’s outstanding innings of 129 runs now ranks as the third-highest individual score by an Indian batter who batted at No. 5 in One-Day Internationals, joining the elite group that includes World Cup winners Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.
139 Yuvraj Singh vs Aus Sydney 2004
134 MS Dhoni vs Eng Cuttack 2017
129* KL Rahul vs WI New Chandigarh 2026
124 MS Dhoni vs Aus Nagpur 2009
Rahul has cemented his reputation as one of India’s most reliable batters in ODI cricket, and his recent century marked yet another achievement in his stellar career. His 129 not out was scored in just 80 balls, and he built momentum as the innings went on.
Rahul’s ninth century in ODI cricket, aside from his 62-ball hundred against the Netherlands in the 2023 World Cup, was achieved more quickly. His capacity to bat throughout the innings and then accelerate the run rate in the final overs enabled India to post a strong total.
Rahul’s century marked the eighth individual hundred by a different player in the series, placing the bilateral contest among the elite. This is the second-highest number of individual centuries in a bilateral ODI series of any length, surpassed only by the India-Australia series held in India in 2013, which saw nine different players reach a century. With Rahul steering India’s innings and scoring his ninth ODI century, the third ODI marked another milestone in a remarkable streak of batting brilliance throughout the series.
