KL Rahul is probably the no. 1 player at the moment in IPL: Gautam Gambhir
Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir heaped huge praise on Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul, after he slammed the first century of IPL 2020. Rahul was in sublime touch against Royal Challengers Bangalore and scored unbeaten 132 runs in 69 balls, which is also the highest individual score by an Indian in tournament's history.
Rahul's special knock in Dubai powered KXIP to dominating 97-run win over RCB. He adjusted the innings extremely well according to the situation as the charismatic batsman played the anchor role till the 15th over and later he just blasted upon the RCB bowlers. Rahul smashed 26 runs off Dale Steyn in the 19th over.
West Indies great Ian Bishop called Rahul the complete batsman after his glorious knock against RCB.
“The way he balanced his innings was great. I was sitting there watching those first 50 runs, and outside of the powerplay, I was thinking ‘geez, he is just settling there, not anchor it, but looking to balance it,’Bishop said on ESPNCricinfo’s T20 Timeout show.
“And I think he did that beautifully. Forget the chances, the way he accelerate towards the end, having batting that deep in the innings, I think it makes him a complete batsman,” he added.
Gambhir also shared his views on the knock and said Rahul is probably the no. 1 player at the moment.
“This was a proper inning. Not even a single slog in the innings to be honest. That is what the quality of the man is. He can hit those cricketing shots and with that much of impact and that much strike rate, he shows what he is capable of.
“I have to agree with Ian Bishop that in IPL, he is probably the no. 1 player at the moment,” he further said.
Against RCB, Rahul also became the fastest Indian to reach the 2000 IPL runs in 60 innings. The stylish batsman clipped away a full-length delivery to fine leg for four to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record, who reached the milestone in 63 matches.
