KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal registered the highest opening stand for Kings XI Punjab. (BCCI/Screengrab)KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal went toe to toe as they displayed a batting masterclass in Sharjah against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. While Agarwal was the aggressor and outplayed KL in the first 10 overs of KXIP’s innings, Rahul unleashed his stokes in the latter half of the 183-run stand between the two.
Their partnership was simply scintillating and has certainly raised the bar for other teams to match their footsteps. But if there was one moment that stood out amidst their array of sixes and fours it was the Nataraj shot– first from Rahul, followed by Agarwal– both of the same bowler, Jofra Archer.
Natarajan Shot which Kapil Dev used to play. KL Rahul bringing those golden days back.#RRvsKXIP pic.twitter.com/ad4n7BOE9i
— भावNA (@_chill_india) September 27, 2020
Natarajan Shot which Kapil Dev used to play. KL Rahul bringing those golden days back.#RRvKXIP #RRvsKXIP #KXIPvsRR #KXIPvRR pic.twitter.com/Jf1cM9zCUo
— Awarapan 🇮🇳 (@KingSlayer_Rule) September 27, 2020
This is calle Nataraja shot pic.twitter.com/SzhbZdErzQ
— AD (@cricadharsh) September 27, 2020
Archer banged in short at 148 kmph and the ball didn’t rise as much from the pitch as the bowler would have liked. Rahul just swiveled around and using his played it past square leg for a boundary. ‘The Nataraj Shot’, quipped commentator L Sivaramakrishnan immediately.
A couple of balls later, Mayank showed he can match-up with Rahul as well. This time it was the slower ball that kicked up a bit from the surface. But once again the ball did not rise as much Archer would have wanted and the batsman quickly got into position and helped it on its way, well wide of backward square leg for a four.
But who played it better? You can decide it here-
Agarwal outshone his Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul with a maiden IPL hundred as the duo pummelled the Rajasthan Royals bowlers into submission to post an imposing 223 for 2 here on Sunday.
Agarwal (106) and Rahul (69) stitched 183 runs for the opening stand, the highest partnership for any wicket so far this season as they took apart the Royals bowlers who were also wayward in their line and length.
The duo just missed the record of highest opening wicket partnership in IPL history by a mere two runs when Agarwal was out in the 17th over after hitting 10 fours and seven sixes during his magnificent 50-ball knock.
Nicholas Pooran then hit 25 not out from just eight balls while Glenn Maxwell also remained unbeaten on 13 as KXIP ended with the highest team total of IPL 2020
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