KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 129 in the third and final ODI against the West Indies and equalled MS Dhoni’s century count in the elite list of No.5 batters. He faced 87 balls in Mullanpur and is joint second with four hundreds at the batting slot alongside legendary Dhoni. He struck 10 fours and two sixes.
Overall, Yuvraj Singh holds the record for the most ODI tons by an Indian player at No.5 position, with seven to his name. However, Rahul broke Yuvraj’s milestone for the highest score by an Indian cricketer at the No.5 slot against the West Indies in the fifty-over format, going past the former all-rounder’s individual total of 110 in 2005.
Most ODI hundreds by India’s No.5 batter in ODIs
Yuvraj Singh – 7 centuries from 99 matches
MS Dhoni – 4 centuries from 95 matches
KL Rahul – 4 centuries from 39 matches
Highest scores by Team India’s No.5 batter in ODIs against West Indies
KL Rahul – 139* at Mullanpur (2026)
Yuvraj Singh – 110 at Colombo (2005)
MS Dhoni – 95 at Kingston (2009)
Rahul’s knock took the score to 351/7 in 50 overs. He initially played cautiously in the middle overs and rotated the strike, finding boundaries on loose deliveries.
His fifty came off 41 balls, and he then started taking on bowlers. He played the pull shot, and his drives were perfectly timed. He stitched key stands with Naman Dhir and Gurnoor Brar as India accelerated in the death overs. Rahul took 39 deliveries to move from 50 to 100.
He didn’t slow down after reaching his ton and kept hammering bowlers for sixes and fours. Apart from him, Rohit Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad also batted well, with the former captain posting 92 off 85 balls, including 10 fours and 3 sixes.
Gaikwad smashed a fifty, contributing 57 to the total. He faced 69 deliveries and hit 4 sixes and 1 four.
Rohit Sharma misses century by 8 runs
Rohit Sharma had a chance to score his second consecutive hundred of the series but was dismissed on 92. He is the fifth batter to be dismissed in the 90s multiple times. Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Vusi Sibanda and Adam Gilchrist are also part of the unfortunate club.
Most 90s dismissals in fifty-over format against West Indies
Virat Kohli – 2
Virender Sehwag – 2
Vusi Sibanda – 2
Adam Gilchrist – 2
Rohit Sharma -2
India are leading the series 2-0, having won the first two matches.