Aakash Chopra, a former India opener, defended KL Rahul after the Indian vice-captain came under fire for his sluggish performance in the first T20I match against South Africa. Chopra praised KL Rahul for his excellent performance and added that under difficult circumstances, he made the right decision to put safety first.

Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 50 off 33 balls helped India win the match on Wednesday despite KL Rahul's troubles on a wicket that had South Africa reeling at 9/5 at the outset of the match. Even though Rahul struck a fifty, India's lowest-ever Powerplay score was recorded, making him batting at the other end on the same strip difficult.

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Rahul could once play his waiting game because there was little scoreboard pressure, and Nortje's six was the only shot that was noteworthy. Rahul really hit India's T20I slowest fifty against South Africa in the first game of the series.

"People are just blasting Rahul for his knock, I can't understand why. If you are chasing only 107, and the conditions are difficult, why will the batter look to hit? It is okay to score ugly runs as well, it takes courage and guts," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

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"Had he decided to start striking the ball and got out instead of settling, then that would have been irresponsible. He batted really well, in my opinion: respected the conditions and the situation and played accordingly. So please cut him some slack," Chopra added.

The criticism of KL Rahul's batting strategy in the first T20I, according to Chopra, was gravely mistaken. "The criticism of KL Rahul’s batting approach last night was seriously misplaced there's a reason why the opponents scored only 106 in 20 overs and your team was 2 down for not much. It was a top-quality knock by KLR, for he chose to fight it out. Well played," Chopra further tweeted.

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