KL Rahul would have had his heart in his mouth for a moment off the fifth ball of the 23rd over. Until then, he had been in supreme control of the short ball during his stay in the middle. He had struck Nathan Smith for a boundary and a six off consecutive deliveries in the 16th over. But this time, a top edge off Jacob Duffy sailed over deep square leg for six.

With India precariously placed at 103/5 in their chase of 135, Rahul had to be there at the end. Had that delivery gone to hand instead of over the boundary, India may have fallen short.

Eventually, they did not. Rahul, first with Shreyas Iyer and later with the lower order, helped India secure a four-run win by the DLS method and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

ODI cricket has increasingly become a batsman-dominated game over the last decade.…