Opener Rahul smashes fastest half-century in IPL to help Punjab clinch comfortable six-wicket win over Daredevils
Kings XI Punjab's KL Rahul plays a shot during a match against Delhi Daredevils at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali yesterday. Pic/PTI
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KL Rahul batted for just 16 deliveries and in that brief stay, he virtually decided the fate of the match by smashing the fastest half-century in IPL history. His 14-ball 50 enabled Kings XI Punjab to subdue Delhi Daredevils by six wickets and with seven balls to spare at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali yesterday.
When the home crowd came to know at the toss that Chris Gayle was not in the XI, they were a bit disappointed. But the way Rahul toyed with the bowling, hitting fours and sixes at will off Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami and Amit Mishra, the crowd went berserk. Had he not fallen to Boult on 51 with four sixes and six boundaries, the match could well have been over with much more to spare.
Of course, it was not just Rahul who was outstanding for KXIP. Ravichandran Ashwin, leading the team for the first time, was really impressive the way he handled his bowling arsenal. Young Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rehman was impressive on debut, picking up crucial wickets of Colin Munro and Rishabh Pant. In fact, barring Axar Patel, the other bowlers did their job well and helped restrict Delhi Daredevils to 166 for seven.
For DD, barring skipper Gautam Gambhir and to some extent, Pant and Chris Morris, the other batsmen failed to get going. It seemed that they were at least 30 runs short of a challenging total. And that it what it turned out, as Rahul went hammer and tongs, completing a half century in the third over of the innings in just 12 minutes. He looked all set for a big one, till an outside edge off Boult ended his adventure. KXIP had enough batting power to ensure Rahul's knock did not go in vain, with another youngster Karun Nair picking up a fine half-century.
KXIP have a start they were looking for and with Glenn Maxwell set to join them tomorrow, they need to make the most of the winning start. DD on the other hand will be back to the drawing board with coach Ricky Pointing trying to figure out what needs to be done to put things right.
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