‘Lights Out’ at Ekana Stadium as KL Rahul Wins 2nd ‘Best Fielder' Medal in World Cup - WATCH

The newly introduced rule of awarding a gold medal to the stand-out fielder seems to have doubled the motivation of Indian players in the ongoing World Cup 2023. The move has been so impactful that even a substitute isn’t shy of throwing his body on the line to save some runs.

At the same time, fielding coach T Dilip’s way of announcing the ‘best fielder’ after every match has taken the internet by storm. The winner’s name was flashed on the electronic display board at the MCA Stadium in Pune whereas in Dharamsala, the spider cam carried the picture of the best-fielder. Coming to Lucknow, Dilip went a notch above to surprise the Indian contingent.

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“This medal is merely not about statistics. It’s not about just one good catch or saving some runs. It’s who bring on the spirit on the field. And what that one act you make how much the impact is making on the match. All that is counted and those are the winners,” said Dilip while addressing the players in the dressing.

Once the speech was done, the fielding coach requested everyone to gather at the balcony. Amid the excitement and cheers, the floodlights at the Ekana stadium slowly went off and the LEDs glowed bright depicting KL Rahul’s jersey in one of the stands. The light and sound show has been one of the attractions at all World Cup venues and Dilip decided to use it perfectly.

“Here comes our unsung hero contribution. Sometimes things go under the radar but never go unnoticed. KL Rahul,” said Dilip.

India on Sunday registered their 6^th consecutive win in the tournament, grabbing the top spot on the table with 12 points. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami breathed fire in their magical opening spells after Rohit Sharma’s rearguard 87 on a challenging pitch as India hammered England by 100 runs.

The emphatic win would not have been possible without the special effort of skipper Rohit (87 off 101 balls), whose sublime knock stood out as most Indian batters fell by the wayside on a two-paced pitch. Suryakumar Yadav (49) got the much-needed runs in the death overs to push India to 229 for nine.

Shami (4/22) and Bumrah (3/32) stole the show with the ball for the unstoppable hosts as England batters once against cut a sorry figure as they slumped to 129 all out in 34.5 overs for their fifth loss in six games.