KL Rahul hit a brilliant half-century to guide his team to a win. (Source: BCCI/IPL)
A breathtaking fifty by opener KL Rahul coupled with a composed half-century by Karun Nair powered Kings XI Punjab to their first win in IPL 2018 as they beat Delhi Daredevils by six wickets on Sunday. Playing at their den in Mohali, Punjab won the toss and elected to ball first. The decision by skipper R Ashwin proved correct as he recorded his first triumph in the IPL. Put into bat first DD put on 166 runs on the board but given KXIP’s powerful batting line-up, it never seemed enough. Chasing 167, KL Rahul came out with a positive intent and launched a scathing attack on Trent Boult in the first over to set the tone. En route his scintillating innings, Rahul also slammed the fastest fifty in the IPL. Courtesy of his knock KXIP had put 62 runs in the first four overs. From thereon, DD were always going to find it difficult to make a comeback into the match and ultimately Punjab romped home with seven balls to spare.
READ: KL Rahul’s 14-ball 50 takes Twitter by storm
Earlier, after being put into bat DD got off to a brisk start as captain Gautam Gambhir and Rishabh Pant scored fluently. Gambhir notched up his 36’th IPL fifty before being dismissed. After his departure, DD stuttered in their innings and ended up with 166 on the board. For KXIP, young Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up two wickets on his debut. Veteran seamer Mohit Sharma also bowled well at the death to restrict DD who were threating to reach 180.
.@lionsdenkxip batsman @klrahul11 now sits atop on the fastest fifties chart in the VIVO #IPL pic.twitter.com/Bh6yF9R4JF
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) 8 April 2018
Chasing the target, Punjab were off to a flyer. Such was the impact of Rahul’s innings that even after his departure, the run rate never seemed as a matter of concern. Karun Nair chipped in with a fine fifty before David Miller, Marcus Stoinis guided their side over the line.
ALSO READ: KL Rahul blasts fastest fifty in Indian Premier League history
Reflecting on the loss DD skipper, Gautam Gambhir spoke at the post-match presentation and said, “I thought that we got a decent total on the board but in the first 6 overs (of the chase), they put it beyond us. Hopefully, we can get things right.”
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