Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul, who on Thursday played a mammoth 69-ball innings of 136 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), shattered many a records at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
It was the highest score by a captain in the IPL and the highest ever by an Indian player in the history of the tournament. It also helped KXIP to a comprehensive 97-run win.
However, the 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has revealed that going into the match he was not confident about his batting. He said that it was Glenn Maxwell who helped him prepare.
“I have actually been not so confident. I had a chat with Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) yesterday and I said that I am not feeling completely in control of my batting. He said you must be joking, you are hitting really well,” said Rahul in the post-match presentation ceremony in which he was also declared player of the match.
“Quite honestly I was nervous but I knew if I spend time in the middle, hit a few balls from the middle of bat, it will all settle down.”
Thanks to Rahul’s boisterous batting, Punjab posted 206/3 on the board. The Punjab bowlers continued the momentum their skipper had given and bundled out RCB for a paltry total of 109 in just 17 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Rahul, who crossed the 2000 runs mark in the IPL during his innings, hit 7 maximus and 14 boundaries at a strike rate of above 190. Among bowlers, leg-spinners Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi were the stars as they took three wickets each.
“It’s as complete a team performance as it can get. We had few different plans going into this game. We knew RCB have a power packed batting line up and we had to get 2-3 wickets up front and that also meant putting runs on the board, we know what these guys can do if they get set,” said Rahul. “The analyst, coaches and the management will be happy.”