The under-fire KL Rahul, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper, finally found his mojo back and put up a splendid show with the bat to script history in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday (April 15).
Rahul rode on his robust knock to break Chris Gayle's record as he became the quickest to score 4000 runs in the glitzy league. Rahul, who is still unbeaten on 54 as of 14 overs, completed the milestone in his 105th innings right after scoring 30 runs. Meanwhile, former Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) star batter Gayle took 112 innings to complete 4000 runs in the cash-rich league.
Besides 4000 feat, Rahul is also the second quickest to score 3000 IPL runs (80 innings) behind West Indian batting great.
Not just this, LSG captain is also the fastest Indian batter to amass 2000 runs in the IPL which came in just 60 innings. He clicked on the achievement back in 2020 when he left behind former Mumbai Indians' (MI) batting juggernaut Sachin Tendulkar (63 innings).
The 30-year-old also has completed 2000 runs as a skipper in the IPL. Notably he has led Punjab for in 2020 and 2021. The flamboyant batter, who is going through a lean patch for quite sometime across formats, made his IPL debut with the RCB in 2013 and also represented Sunrisers Hyderabad for two seasons before coming back to RCB.
The star Karnataka batter was also the Orange Cap holder while playing for PBKS when he scored 670 runs in a IPL season. Rahul also has the record of the highest score by an IPL captain (132).
Follow the LSG vs PBKS' live scores here
Fastest to 4000 runs in IPL (innings)
KL Rahul (105 innings)
Chris Gayle (112 innings)
David Warner (114 innings)
Virat Kohli (128 innings)
AB de Villiers (131 innings)
Talking about the match, PBKS won the toss and opted to bowl first. Shikhar Dhawan missed out on the match as he picked up the shoulder niggle and in his absence Sam Curran is leading the side.
We'll bowl first. Something we haven't done all season. Shilkhar picked up an injury last game, don't know how bad it is but hopefully he won't be out long. His absence is huge, we've got two Indian batters coming in and Raza is back in the XI. The conditions looks good,” PBKS interim skipper Curran said after winning the toss.
“First game on this strip, anything would have worked. It is exciting to challenge ourselves on different conditions. It is our first season here, so each game we'll assess and modify. Every game we make a few changes, settle on a 12-13 and take a call depending on the game. Each game we have turned up and we have been challenged every time, but players have found answers. Everyone is enjoying the game and there is a good vibe around, really happy with the support we have got out here,” LSG captain KL Rahul said after the toss.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi.
Substitutes: Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, K Gowtham, Prerak Mankad, Daniel Sams
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Substitutes: Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Rishi Dhawan.
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