IPL 2018: Want to bat deep in the innings and stay till the end, says KL Rahul

KL Rahul has excelled in his role as an opener for KXIP. (Source: BCCI)

Kings XI Punjab opener KL Rahul has excelled in his role as an opener and revealed his intentions of no longer being content with explosive starts and wanting to play the long innings. Rahul, who has been in a stupendous run of form with the bat in IPL’s season 11, storked his way to a brilliant 84 from 54 balls against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday to propel KXIP to a six-wicket win. Staying true to his words, Rahul has spent more time at the crease and batted beyond the 10 over mark, scoring runs at a brisk pace.

In an interview on iplt20.com, the 27-year-old said, “I want to get as many runs as I can in the powerplay. However, I think I haven’t converted those starts into big runs for the team; as an opening batsman that’s what is crucial. If you get off to a good start, even if you get the run-rate down a bit in the middle overs, if you are set till the end you can do the most damage.”

“I wanted to come here with a fresher approach and try to win as many games as I can. (I wanted to) try to bat deep in the innings and that was the plan and I am very happy that it paid off today,” he added.

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Reflecting on his knock, Rahul said, “For me personally I think this is the first knock I am really satisfied with because I won the game for the team and stayed till the end. I have been hitting the ball really well so can’t complain about that. I always try to back my cricketing shots and don’t try to slog much.”

Meanwhile, with the win over Royals, Punjab are currently third on the points table. In nine matches they have gathered 12 points.