KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 84 off 54 balls. (Source: PTI)
KL Rahul smashed an unbeaten half-century after young off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s exploits with the ball to guide Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their IPL 2018 match in Indore. Chasing a modest target of 153, Rahul anchored Kings XI’s innings from start to finish, scoring 84 off just 54 balls with the help of seven boundaries and three sixes to guide his side home with eight balls to spare.
Kings XI started on a shaky note with Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal both being dismissed without making too much of a difference on the scoreboard. Rahul and Karun Nair brought the chase back on track. They shared a 50-run partnership. But Punjab struggled again after the dismissal of Karun and in the end, it was Marcus Stoinis who stuck on with Rahul to see them over the finishing line.
Good to see @klrahul11 ‘s consistent performance throughout the tournament so far, Congrats on the Victory @lionsdenkxip #KXIPvRR
— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) 6 May 2018
Always rate finishing games as a very high quality in batsman and KL Rahul did it so brilliantly today. Good performance by the boys and really well led by Ashwin #KXIPvRR
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) 6 May 2018
Technical competence along with the maturity to finish the game…almost singlehandedly. K L Rahul is a special talent who’s coming to his own this year. #KXIPvRR #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) 6 May 2018
Very impressive run chase by Kings 11 Punjab. KL Rahul was 48 of 43 and just like what top batsmen do,was able to accelerate quickly and scored 36 of his next 11. The running between the wickets,the twos was a standout feature as well #KXIPvRR
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 6, 2018
.@klrahul11 – What flamboyance and shot making. Single handedly won the game for the @lionsdenkxip #KXIPvRR
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) May 6, 2018
Now this is how the best finish matches. This, from KL Rahul was an innings of the very highest class.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2018
Rajasthan Royals’ chances of making it into the top four at the end of the season is all but over with this loss.