KL Rahul Batting With S Shetty! Ranji Trophy Viral Scorecard Stuns Internet

KL Rahul and Suniel Shetty [Source: X.com]

Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul is in great form in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, playing for Karnataka. In the first semi-final against Uttarakhand at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Rahul impressed fans with his strong batting performance.

During the match, a funny and interesting moment caught everyone’s attention. The scoreboard showed “KL Rahul” batting on 79 runs alongside “S Shetty,” who was on 7 runs.

KL Rahul pairs up with S Shetty during Ranji Trophy

Many fans quickly noticed the name S Shetty and assumed it referred to Rahul’s father-in-law, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, whose name is also often written as S Shetty. However, the S Shetty on the field was actually Shikhar Shetty, Rahul’s teammate. The scoreboard image soon went viral on social media, with fans joking about the name similarity.

Notably, in the same match, Suniel Shetty was present at the stadium to support his son-in-law. Suniel Shetty was seen cheering from the stands along with his son, Ahan Shetty. When Rahul scored a century in the first innings, both Suniel and Ahan gave him a standing ovation, showing their pride and support.

Also Read: KL Rahul Slams 25th First-Class Century As Karnataka Inch Closer To Ranji Trophy Final

Notably, Rahul and Suniel are known to share a close bond, and the actor is often seen supporting him during important matches.

In the second innings, however, Shikhar Shetty was dismissed for just 7 runs off 18 balls. KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 86 runs from 103 balls, continuing his solid performance for Karnataka.

Gaurav Gupta

@toi_gauravG

...when K L Rahul was batting for Karnataka in the ##RanjiTrophy SemiFinal vs Uttarakhandz came across this interesting sight :) 🏆🏏

Feb 19, 2026, 10:10 AM

Who is Shikhar Shetty?

Shikhar Shetty is a 20-year-old bowling all-rounder who plays for Karnataka. He bats right-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox spin. Even though he is young, he has already made a mark in domestic cricket. 

So far, he has played six first-class matches, taken 20 wickets, and scored 114 runs.

KL Rahul helps Karnataka dominate Uttarakhand 

Karnataka put up a massive total of 736 runs in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. This became Karnataka’s third-highest team total in the history of the Ranji Trophy. The big score was powered by Devdutt Padikkal’s double century, along with centuries from Rahul and Ravichandran Smaran.

However, Uttarakhand struggled in their first innings and were bowled out for 233 runs, giving Karnataka a huge first-innings lead of 503 runs. Karnataka decided not to enforce the follow-on and instead used the second innings to give more practice to their players before the final, which is set to begin on February 26. 

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Lower-order players like Kruthik Krishna and Shreyas Gopal were promoted up the order, and Krishna scored a useful 52.

Karnataka eventually built a massive overall lead of 802 runs, almost securing their place in the final against Jammu and Kashmir. 

Notably, in the second innings, Smaran continued his excellent form by scoring 127 runs off 149 balls in the second innings. He shared a strong 168-run partnership with KL Rahul, who scored 86* runs. At the time of writing, Uttarakhand were 75 for 3 in their second innings, still facing a tough challenge.

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