KL Rahul became the first cricketer to score a century in IPL 2020. His ton came against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Dubai, which marked his second hundred in the mega T20 tournament.
His match-winning knock of 132* comprised 14 fours and 7 sixes, as he batted till the end while striking at 191.30, and helped Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) post 206/3 by the end of twenty overs.
The Punjab franchise won the match by a margin of 97 runs, and skipper KL Rahul was awarded as the Man of the Match for his herculean innings.
The 28-year-old Karnataka born garnered huge praise and appreciation from former cricketers Ian Bishop and Gautam Gambhir.
“The way he balanced his innings was great. I was sitting there watching those 50 runs, and outside of the powerplay I was thinking ‘geez, he is just settling there, not anchoring it, but looking to balanceit,” said Bishop on ESPNCricinfo’s T20 Timeout show.
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The cricketer turned commentator further added how beautifully KL Rahul accelerated his innings towards the end, making him a complete batsman in his opinion.
“And I think he did that beautifully. Forget the chances, the way he accelerated towards the end, having batting that deep in the innings, I think it makes him a complete batsman.”
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Gautam Gambhir heaped praise on KL Rahul’s majestic inning and the cricketing shows that he put to display in his unbeaten 132.
“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.” added Gambhir, who won two IPL titles with Kolkata Knight Riders, and was among the players with most 50s in IPL during his cricketing days.
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In IPL, KL Rahul has played 60 innings, averaging 44.37, striking at 140.22 and amassing 2130 runs. So far, he has clobbered 16 fifties and 2 centuries to his name.
Kings XI Punjab will take on Rajasthan Royals on September 27 in Dubai.
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