News Analysis India

Tag: KL Rahul

  • IPL 2021: Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul wins toss, opt to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match, here on Friday.

    A fit-again Mayank Agarwal was brought back in place of Mandeep Singh in the Punjab playing eleven.

    The other changes were Shahrukh Khan replacing Harpreet Brar and Fabian Allen replacing Chris Gayle, who has left the IPL’s bio-secure environment due to bubble fatigue.

    KKR made two changes, bringing in Tim Seifert for Lockie Ferguson and Shivami Mavi for Sandeep Warrier.

    Teams:

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (C), Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee and Varun Chakaravarthy.

    Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (C), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh.

  • Didn’t play to our potential till now, says Rohit as Rahul accepts his team can’t handle pressure

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma agreed that his team didn’t play to their potential in the first three games on resumption while his Punjab Kings opposite number KL Rahul had no hesitation in admitting that his team is not handling pressure situations well enough.

    MI beat Punjab Kings by six wickets after three back-to-back defeats and are now back in play-off contentions with 10 points from 11 games.

    “We do agree that we didn’t play to our potential, but it’s a long tournament and we need to stick to our plans and reading the situations is very important and we can take a lot of confidence from that. It is important not to lose the guard,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

    He was all praise for Hardik Pandya, who finally returned to form with a 40 not out off 30 balls.

    “The way he (Hardik) understood the situation was very crucial from a team’s perspective, it’s important for him to spend the time in the middle as he’s coming back from a injury.”

    Rahul, on his part, seemed disappointed when asked about whether his young team is unable to cope up with pressure situations.

    “It is what it is, we haven’t been able to handle the pressure. We’ll learn more if we play more together as a team,” Rahul said.

    “We need to be positive. We have three games, so we need to take one game at a time. We need to go out there and enjoy ourselves. All our games in the UAE have gone down to the wire, hopefully we can build on that.”

    He also accepted that 135 was not a defendable target on this track.

    “It was a great fight, but 135 was not enough on this pitch.”

    “We should have got about 170. The boys showed a lot of fight with the ball, we have done that two games in a row. The next three games will be interesting for us as the table looks interesting,” Rahul said.

    Rohit said that it was a tough call to drop someone like Ishan Kishan but the team will back him as he tried to get back to form.

    “It’s a tough call (on dropping Ishan Kishan). Saurabh (Tiwary) has played the perfect role today and he’s done well to nudge around in the middle overs. We are gonna back him (Ishan Kishan) as he’s a very important player for us.”

  • We haven’t seen the best of KL Rahul yet: Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir expects KL Rahul to have a stupendous IPL campaign when the league resumes later this week as he believes that the big-hitter’s best has not yet been seen despite an average of over 50 in the last three seasons.

    Punjab Kings captain Rahul is averaging 66 after seven matches this year with a strike rate of 136.

    The IPL was suspended in May due to COVID-19 cases in its bubble and will resume on Sunday in the UAE.

    “We haven’t seen the best of KL Rahul. Yes, he has got runs, but we still haven’t seen, what he can achieve in his batting,” Gambhir told Star Sports show Game Plan.

    “You could have a season like Virat Kohli had once. He’s that kind of a player in white-ball cricket, where he can get 2-3 hundreds in a season and at a very good strike rate as well,” he said.

    The 29-year-old Rahul has already amassed 331 runs from seven games this year, including four half centuries.

    He is second on the list of 2021 IPL’s top-scorers.

    Speaking of other teams, Gambhir said the conditions in the UAE will favour defending champions Mumbai Indians.

    Mumbai and Chennai Super Kings will clash in the first match of the resumed season on Sunday.

    “When you see the conditions in Chepauk or Delhi, they are completely different from what you get at Wankhede. And, as I mentioned, they are going into conditions that are suited to their fast bowling – people like Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult,” Gambhir said.

    “There will be swing upfront, so they will be very dangerous. Plus, Mumbai wants balls to swing and you’ve got quality fast bowlers and it’s going to be an advantage for them.

    “Plus their batters, want the balls to come on to the bat as well, people like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, all those guys struggled at Chepauk, because it was gripping and turning.”

    Gambhir also felt that Mumbai Indians can’t afford a slow start since they might need to win five of their remaining seven matches to qualify for the Play-offs.

    Talking about India skipper Virat Kohli and his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers, Gambhir said they will come into the tournament with different challenges.

    “There’s going to be a challenge for Virat and there’s going to be a huge challenge for AB de Villiers as well because he will be coming into the tournament without playing any cricket at all.

    “Virat Kohli will have to adjust really quickly because there’ll be hardly any time for him to get used to it.

    “From the five-Test-match series to the T20 format, and AB as well, because these guys need to get runs if they have to have a chance to first qualify for the playoffs and then probably go on to win the title.”

  • Punjab Kings players KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Agarwal arrive in Dubai

    By ANI

    DUBAI: Punjab Kings players KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Shami who were a part of the Indian squad for the Test series England landed in Dubai on Sunday for the second half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

    These three players will now undergo mandatory six-day quarantine and thereafter, the players will join the rest of the squad.

    Earlier, the Delhi Capitals players who were part of the Indian squad for the Test series against England landed in Dubai safely on Sunday for the second half of the IPL 2021. The players, including Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw and Umesh Yadav, underwent Covid-19 tests upon arrival in Dubai.

    “The players will be serving a 6 day hard quarantine, as per IPL protocols, during which they will be tested thrice. Thereafter, the players will join the rest of the Delhi Capitals squad, who are already part of the bio-bubble,” said Delhi Capitals in its official statement.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed all franchises that every player coming in from the UK will have to undergo six days of hard quarantine before they can join the existing team bubbles in UAE for the resumption of the 2021 edition of the IPL.

    “The BCCI has informed us on Friday that every player coming in from UK to UAE will have to undergo six days of quarantine before they can join the team bubbles. Obviously the bubble to bubble transfer from UK to UAE no longer stands keeping in mind the current scenario,” the official said.

    With the final Test between India and England in Manchester cancelled, IPL franchises on Friday got in touch with charter companies to fly out their players from Manchester to UAE for the resumption of the cash-rich league.

    The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Mumbai Indians.

    The action will then shift to Abu Dhabi where Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings. In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi.

    The board has come up with a 46-page health advisory that lays down all the pointers that everyone associated with the IPL needs to follow in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the league.

  • IPL 2021 PBKS vs CSK LIVE Score: MS Dhoni wins toss, opts to bowl against Punjab Kings

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl against Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match here on Friday.

    Both the sides are playing an unchanged XI.

    Teams:

    Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni(wk/c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.

    Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(wk/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

  • Yuzvendra Chahal ‘welcomes’ KL Rahul, Chris Gayle to Royal Challengers Bangalore

    By IANS
    MUMBAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spinner Yuzvendra Chahal pointed out the similarities between the Punjab Kings’ jersey with that of RCB’s by playfully welcoming captain KL Rahul and Chris Gayle to the franchise.

    “Welcome to @RCBTweets boys @henrygayle @klrahul11,” said Chahal in his tweet with a video of Gayle and Rahul having a chat on the field wearing the Punjab jersey during their match on Monday against Rajasthan Royals.

    Welcome to @RCBTweets boys @henrygayle @klrahul11 pic.twitter.com/1TQ65VzScR
    — Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) April 12, 2021

    Punjab Kings scored a mammoth 221/6 with captain KL Rahul scoring 91 off 50 balls. However, RR almost pulled off an epic chase with their captain Sanju Samson scoring an extraordinary 119 runs off just 63 deliveries. However, they fell just four runs short with Samson being dismissed off the last ball of the match and RR’s innings ended on 217/7.

  • Punjab Kings is not for the light-hearted, says KL Rahul after thrilling win against Rajasthan Royals

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: After registering a thrilling four-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul said that his team is not for the light-hearted as they have a knack of producing nail-bitters.

    Sanju Samson’s fighting hundred went in vain as Arshdeep Singh held his nerve in the final over to help Punjab Kings register a thrilling win over Rajasthan Royals here at the Wankhede on Monday. KL Rahul’s calm and composed knock, aided by Deepak Hooda’s belligerent hitting, helped Punjab Kings post 221 in the allotted 20 overs. In response, Rajasthan Royals fell just four runs short of the target.

    “As a captain and as a player, I wouldn’t want to keep being part of such games. But Punjab Kings is not for the light hearted, it was not the case last year and I do not think it will be this year as well. Fingers crossed, we will win some games comfortably. This was a great win and very important for us to start like this,” Rahul told Arshdeep in a video posted on the official website of the IPL.

    Talking about his 91-run knock, Rahul said: “It felt good obviously, to start off the IPL with a good innings and with a win is very very crucial.”

    Arshdeep Singh had to defend 13 runs in the final over against a well set Samson and big-hitter Chris Morris. The youngster managed to defend it to give Punjab a win by four runs.

    “It feels good when the captain backs you and gives you the ball in pressure situations. The kind of confidence the support staff gives, it really helps. Looking forward to deliver for the team in the future and doing well for the captain whenever he gives the ball,” Arshdeep told Rahul.

    Earlier, Punjab Kings posted a total of 221/6 against Rajasthan Royals. Rahul scored 91 runs off just 50 balls while Hooda set the Wankhede on fire with his 64-run knock from just 28 deliveries with the help of 4 fours and 6 sixes. Chris Gayle also chipped in with a valuable 40.

    Punjab Kings will next lock horns with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday.

  • Sanju Samson’s century goes in vain as Punjab Kings win this last-ball thriller match by 4 runs

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals’ new captain Sanju Samson’s one man show met with last ball disappointment as Punjab Kings win the match by 4 runs in this high scoring thriller on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium Mumbai on the 12th April 2021. 

    With pacer Arshdeep Singh bowling the last over, Samson turned down Chris Morris’ call for a run in the penultimate ball and went for all in the last ball.

    With 5 runs required of the last ball, he went for a six but only to be caught along the boundary line.

    KL Rahul (91 off 50) and Deepak Hooda (64 off 28) powered Punjab Kings to an imposing 221 for six after being put in to bat on a batting beauty.

    Samson, who effortlessly struck seven sixes and 12 fours, was so confident of taking his team home that he refused a single to Chris Morris on penultimate ball of the game when Royals needed five runs off two balls.

    ALSO READ: Have no words to tell, don’t think I could have done anything more, says RR captain Sanju Samson

    In the end, it was not to be for Royals as Punjab scraped through.

    Chasing 222, Rajasthan lost opener Ben Stokes (0) early.

    Arshdeep then removed Manan Vohra (12) as he lobbed a regulation return catch, leaving Royals in trouble at 25 for two.

    Samson and Jos Buttler (25), who struck four successive boundaries off Riley Meredith, tried to take the game deep with a 45-run stand.

    Pacer Jhye Richardson pegged Rajasthan back by cleaning up Buttler.

    Samson, who was dropped twice, completed his fifty with a boundary and kept playing his shots to keep his team in the game despite losing partners at the other end.

    Royals fetched 26 runs from the 14th and 15th over and then Murugan Ashwin conceded three sixes in the 16th over, as Royals amassed 20 runs, to bring down the equation to 48 runs from the last four.

    Samson hammered Richardson for two boundaries and a six in the 18th over, in which Royals got 19 runs and took his team on the cusp of a fine win before falling short.

    Despite the win, Punjab will be worried that their expensive fast bowling recruits from Australia, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, leaked 55 and 49 runs respectively in their four overs.

    Earlier, Rahul smashed seven fours and five sixes while Hooda, playing his first game since the last IPL, plundered six maximums and four boundaries to fire Punjab past 200.

    They lost opener Mayank Agarwal (14) early, who edged it back to Samson for IPL debutant Chetan Sakariya’s first wicket.

    He ended being the pick of the bowlers, conceding only five runs in the 20th over.

    Rahul, who got his first four with a glance to the fine-leg fence, and Chris Gayle (40 off 28) gave the team a good start with their 67-run stand.

    Rahul got a ‘life’ after Ben Stokes dropped him at the fence in the seventh over even as Gayle, looked in his elements.

    The duo then took on Stokes, as Gayle hit his 350th IPL six, a pull over deep square in the 8th over with Punjab racing to 70 for one.

    Gayle was dropped by leggie Rahul Tewatia (0/25) off his own bowling and the very next ball, the left-hander smashed a six.

    However, in the 10th over, Riyan Parag (1/7) removed Gayle, who was holed out to Stokes in the deep.

    Rahul then changed gears and got to his fifty with a six over Shivam Dube’s (0/20) head in the 13th over.

    Hooda then smashed two maximums in the same over and then struck three sixes off Shreyas Gopal (0/40) in the next as Punjab went ballistic.

    It was Rahul and Hooda’s show at the Wankhede that made the difference to their total as the duo tore into the opposition attack on way to to their 105-run stand.

    Courtesy their monstrous hitting, Punjab added 111 runs in the final eight overs.

    Hooda, who had made a 62 against CSK in his last competitive game in November, had stormed out of the Baroda camp ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after claiming that Krunal Pandya misbehaved with him.

    Hooda was subsequently suspended.

  • Have no words to tell, don’t think I could have done anything more, says RR captain Sanju Samson

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Sanju Samson’s magnificent 119 on his captaincy debut for Rajasthan Royals came in a losing cause but he said the second part of his innings was the best he ever played.

    Samson hit 12 fours and seven sixes in his astonishing 63-ball innings but in the end failed to send Arshdeep Singh’s final ball for the maximum runs as RR lost the match by four runs.

    “The second part of the innings was the best I ever played. In the first part, I was not timing it very well.

    I took my time, respected the bowlers, took singles and got into a rhythm and then I started to play my shots in the second half,” he said at the post-match presentation. 

    “I enjoy my shots but I come back to the present after I play those shots. It automatically happens, when I focus on my skills and watch the ball and react. Sometimes I lose my wicket also, so I just play the same way.”

    He said it was about trusting his processes and being honest to his abilities.

    “I did that, and it came off tonight. The coin (at the toss) looked really nice so I pocketed it, asked the referee if I can have it, but he said no.”

    Samson also said he could not have done better than that though he rues failing to clear the ropes on the final ball.

    “I don’t have words to tell, very close game, came close but unfortunately. I don’t think I could have done anything more.

    “I timed it well, but unfortunately couldn’t clear the man in the deep. It’s all part of the game. We thought the wicket was getting better and we could chase the target down. Despite the loss, I think the team played really well.”

    Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul said he didn’t stop believing in the team and knew that a couple of wickets will give his side the win.

    “The game went deep only because me included, we dropped some sitters. We bowled well until about 11-12 overs. We’re used to this, and it’s not something new for us, but a win like this brings the team together.

    “We batted really well and bowled well in patches. We weren’t consistent with the lengths but the bowlers will learn. A lot of talented, skilful players, and it’s important that we back them,” said Rahul who scored 91 in his team’s 221 for 6 after being asked to bat.

    Rahul praised Deepak Hooda who hit a 28-ball 64 to lay the foundation of Punjab King’s big total, along with him.

    “It was an amazing innings from Hooda, and that’s the kind of fearless batting we want to see in the IPL.

    “We have been tentative sometimes, and it’s important for us to play fearlessly at times, so I am happy that the expectations are being understood and met. Gayle and Hooda were both good that way.”

    Talking about Arshdeep who dismissed Samson with the final ball of the match, Rahul said, “I always go to Arshdeep for crucial overs and he enjoys the pressure.

    “He loves being in the contest and I love throwing him the ball, and he trusts himself and trusts his skills, so that’s always good to see.”

  • Will help KL Rahul to make team better, says Punjab Kings’ Moises Henriques

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Moises Henriques led Sydney Sixers to a title win in Big Bash League (BBL) in February but the Australian all-rounder shied away from taking the credit as he feels each and every member of the squad played an integral role during the tournament.

    Henriques said a successful team needs players who are ready to help their captain when required and the same was the case with him in the BBL.

    The Australian all-rounder, who will be seen in action for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is ready to do a similar thing for his skipper KL Rahul.

    “Just because you’re the captain, it doesn’t mean you run the show. I had 10 other very good players, very good leaders out there helping me,” the Punjab Kings’ website quoted Henriques as saying.

    “And now I’ll be trying to do the same for KL (Rahul), whether it be while playing or watching the game. It is about trying to make the team get better from wherever I may be,” he added.

    Henriques highlighted how good fielding switches the game in a team’s favour in the shortest format of the game.

    “I think fielding is a huge part of the game that doesn’t get the praise and the acknowledgement it deserves. A lot of the best teams I’ve played with have had really good fielding setups,” said Henriques.

    “If you can constantly save 5-10 runs in the field whilst the other teams are probably losing a few runs on the field everytime. If you take that half catch or the odd run-out chance, you do it multiple times in a season and it will probably get you two or three extra wins through the course of a season,” explained the 34-year-old.

    Punjab Kings will play against Rajasthan Royals in their first game on April 12 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.