IPL 2018: KL wants to bat deep and take his team home

KL Rahul has simply been phenomenal for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Karnataka-born batsman has racked up 376 runs in nine matches and is currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament for the franchise. He has mostly trod the aggressive route, which has fetched him quite a bit of success in the cash-rich league.

However, during Punjab’s encounter against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Rahul showed his versatility as a batsman. He curbed his natural instincts and played patiently to start with. He took 44 balls to accomplish his half-century and later came on to his own smacked the bowlers during the dying stages of the game when he was set for the final assault.

“I am very happy”- KL Rahul

He was happy to be able to take his team over the line and stay there till the end, the opener talked about the significance of playing until the very end.

“I want to get as many runs as I can in the powerplay. If you get off to a good start, even if you get the run-rate down a bit in the middle overs, if you are set till the end you can do the most damage. Those were the things I was thinking about sitting back at home,” Rahul was quoted as saying on IPLt20.com.

The 26-year old also sounded delighted by how he was able to execute his plans to perfection during the run-chase when the home team found themselves in a precarious position.

“I wanted to come here with a fresher approach and try to win as many games as I can. (I wanted to) try to bat deep in the innings and that was the plan and I am very happy that it paid off today,” he added.

Punjab played seven games after which they had a week off. Thereafter, they played the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Holkar Stadium in Indore and slumped. Nevertheless, they came back with a resounding victory against Ajinkya Rahane’s men and are standing on the third position in the league table.

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