KL Rahul
Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul, despite the issues surrounding his strike rate progression through the innings, has been the most consistent batsman in the ongoing IPL 2020, scoring his sixth half-century-plus score on Sunday during the match against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Dubai. And after crossing the half-century mark which took his run tally past 500 this season, Rahul achieved a unique feat.
Rahul became the first Indian batsman in IPL history to amass 50 or more runs in three consecutive seasons. He scored 659 runs for in 2018 in his debut season for Kings XI, playing 14 matches and scoring at an average of 54.91 with six half-centuries. He followed it up with 593 runs in 14 innings in 2019 with one century and six fifties. And in 2014, he once again breached the mark en route to his knock of 77 off 50 deliveries in KXIP's chase to 177. He now has scored 525 runs this season in nine innings at 75 with one century and five half-centuries.
He however isn't the first batsman to the feat as SRH skipper David Warner has scored 500-plus runs in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. He has missed 2018 owing to the ball-tampering ban. And Rahul's IPL teammate Chris Gayle is the only other batsman to score 500 or more in three straight seasons - 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Rahul has also gone past 500 in a season for the third time in his IPL career. Among Indians, RCB captain Virat Kohli stands atop with five such tallies, followed by Suresh Raina who too has three such scores.
Talking about the game, Mumbai Indians, following a horrific start, pulled back things riding on a 12-ball 34 from Kieron Pollard to finish with 176 on board at the loss of six wickets.
