IPL 2018: Sportzwiki's Man of the Match - KL Rahul

Kings XI Punjab has had a memorable season so far. Every game had a match-winner, and this time it was the opener, KL Rahul who took his purple patch to a new level.

Chasing 153 to win, Punjab earned the two points by winning the game by six wickets against Rajasthan Royals in Indore with eight balls to spare.

It was a day for the wicket-keepers. Firstly, it was Jos Buttler who came up with a quick-fire 51 off 39 balls. But the Englishman found no support from the other end. Sanju Samson’s 28 and Shreyas Gopal’s 24 took them to a decent total.

For the first time in this year’s IPL, Chris Gayle failed with the bat, but an attacking 32 from Karun Nair and an unbeaten 23 from Marcus Stoinis was good enough to support Rahul.

One of the most expensive players in this year’s IPL, KL Rahul has made it count, but his franchise will be extremely happy to see him finish the game.

Rahul converted nine one’s into two’s and was on 18 off 15 balls at the powerplays. But he broke the shackle at the crucial juncture, scoring 42 runs off 15 balls.

Rahul takes Punjab to victory

“For me, this is the first knock that I would be really satisfied with because I won the game for the team. The way I started the IPL gave me a lot of confidence, and I knew taking it to the next level is by winning the game for the team. So I just wanted to bat deep and win the game. I always try to back my shots, never try to slog.” Rahul said after taking his side to a 6-wicket win.

He also spoke on the importance of building partnerships and running between the wickets.

“I’ve learned that doesn’t suit me and I know if I can keep my shape, I can succeed even in T20s. I trust my game that I can bat at a fair clip. I knew if I stayed till the end I can win the game. I just needed someone to stay with me. Karun did that. Stoinis did that and ran well too. Very happy to see the batting group is helping. With the way I was batting, I thought that should have gone for four, but I did get lucky [about the catch that was not given]” he added.