Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul shone with the willow to achieve a rare feat in T20s in an IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday (April 4). Rahul struck his 50th fifty in Twenty20 cricket to join an elusive list which features the likes of Virat Kohli and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma.
After playing a blistering innings of 68 off 50, the opener became the fifth Indian to achieve this landmark which spurred LSG to a great start to post a competitive score of 169 while batting first against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
This was also Rahul's 28th fifty in the IPL as he equalled Ajinkya Rahane's tally. The India opener is now in the 9th spot in the list of batters with the most IPL fifties, a list headed by David Warner who has 49 fifties.
Most T20 Fifties by Indians
Virat Kohli: 328 matches 76 fifties
Rohit Sharma: 372 matches, 69 fifties
Shikhar Dhawan: 305 matches, 63 fifties
Suresh Raina: 336 matches, 53 fifties
KL Rahul: 175 matches, 50 fifties
Rahul scored 404 runs in 2020 in T20 cricket and cemented his place in the Indian side at the top of the order for last year's World Cup. Rahul is the preferred opening partner along with captain Rohit Sharma for the shortest format of the game.
Rahul has undoubtedly been of the most consistent performers in the IPL over the years. The Karnataka batter has scored 3313 runs in just 94 matches at a staggering average of 46.66, the highest among batters with a minimum of 3000 runs in the IPL. Despite not winning a title with Punjab Kings, he scored in excess of 550 runs each season from 2018 to 2021.
In the first innings of LSG, skipper Rahul and Deepak Hooda struck useful half-centuries and lifted their side to 169 for seven after a disastrous start against SRH on Monday.
After his team lost three wickets for just 27 runs in the powerplay, Rahul (68 off 50 balls) found an able ally in Deepak Hooda (51 off 33 balls) and added 87 runs for the fourth wicket to revive the innings.
Rahul hit six fours and a six, while Hooda found the fence three times and also cleared it thrice.
Lucknow will look to win this match and continue their winning momentum as dented SRH are in a desperate need to open their winning account in IPL 2022.
