KXIP skipper KL Rahul (right) with teammate Chris Gayle in Sharjah on Thursday.
Orange cap holder KL Rahul continued his fine form in the Indian Premier League 2020 despite his side Kings XI Punjab's misfortune as he smashed a 37-ball 50 while chasing 172 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah on Thursday. The right-handed batsman hit four sixes and a solitary boundary on his way to his 19th IPL fifty while his fourth of the season.
He has already scored a century (126) against the same side earlier this season when KXIP won by a massive 97-run margin.
Chasing RCB’s 172, KXIP made the most out of the powerplays with Rahul and Mayank Agarwal bringing up 50 runs before the fielding restriction was relaxed.
The duo scored 78 runs in the first eight overs, smashing five 6s and as many 4s, to provide the strong start in the chase with Mayank doing most of the damage with his 25-ball 45. His inning came to an end with RCB’s dependable Yuzvendra Chahal disturbing the furniture to provide the breakthrough.
The run flow expectedly came down for a while with Mayank’s departure but the excitement remained with 41-year-old Chris Gayle coming in to bat first time for the season.
KL Rahul soon burdened the responsibility of scoring as he started it off with two sixes off Mohammed Siraj in the 12th over.
Earlier, RCB skipper Virat Kohli missed his 39th IPL 50 by mere two runs after some smart bowling from Mohammed Shami, who removed Kohli and AB de Villiers in the same over. The pacer, however, conceded 24 runs to RCB tailenders, helping them reach 171.
