IPL 2018: We Cannot Leave it All on KL Rahul - Brad Hodge

26-year old KL Rahul played two outstanding knocks within 72 hours in the 2018 edition of the IPL.

The right-hand batsman holds the orange cap and along with it a bagful of runs. 471 to be precise, from ten innings at an average of 58.87.

Not many can outshine the explosive Chris Gayle when the Jamaican is on the song, but the Karnataka-born cricketer has done something similar to his Kings XI Punjab opening partner.

Rahul scored an unbeaten 95 off 70 balls, but his side failed to cross the final hurdle.

Rahul’s heroics goes in vain

The Punjab side were restricted to 81/6 at one stage but ended up short by just 15 runs, courtesy a fine inning from the opener.

“It was difficult. Look, if he [Rahul] had pushed a bit harder and lost his wicket, then we might not have gotten close. It is a different thing in hindsight. If you maintain a level, and if you have to chase 12 an over in the last five, you can get that, but it probably got a little bit out of hand. You cannot leave it all on KL. If we had contributions from the middle order, we might have been in a better position. But that didn’t happen,” said Hodge, whose side is currently at the third spot on the points table.

Middle-order a concern for the Kings

Apart from Rahul, only Marcus Stoinis found himself in double figures ( 11 off 16 balls). The top-order of the Punjab unit has been firing, and that is why there is a concern looming large over the stability in the middle-order.

“It [middle-order] has been [a concern], for sure. We know that KL is in great form and when Chris Gayle fires, anything can happen. We have got some extremely talented players, and we need them to lift a little bit and contribute a little bit more to what they are doing. That is the reality for most teams. If your one, two and three fire, you are in pretty good shape. Unfortunately today, we did not have anyone to help KL Rahul get the job done. It is a slight area of concern,” he said.