KXIP vs SRH | Player Ratings - KL Rahul keeps his calm under pressure as Kings XI Punjab beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali thriller

04/08/2019

KL Rahul played one of the most composed innings of his IPL career and his 71-run innings eventually helped Kings XI Punjab win a see-saw thriller at Hyderabad. Rahul had brilliant support from his best friend Mayank Agarwal at the other end, and the duo forged a 114-run partnership.

KL Rahul (9/10): After Chris Gayle’s dismissal, Rahul had to wait and observe the nature of the pitch, which surprisingly didn’t allow David Warner any comfort in the first innings. The Karnataka batsman did that smoothly but didn’t lose the composure to be there until the end. This was class.

Chris Gayle (2/10): While Chris Gayle has always been a cautious player against off-spinners, his ego comes into play against leggies. Rashid Khan played to that ego and bowled a leg-breaking skidder which was right in the slot to be hit. However, the natural angle worked against him and ended up giving an easy catch to Deepak Hooda.

Mayank Agarwal (8/10): Agarwal was just copying Rahul’s application at the other end. He kept a close eye on the length the opposition were targeting and eventually, devised his scoring areas on the basis of that. Before he was dismissed by Sandeep Sharma for 55, the process to guide the team over the line had already reached mezzanine level, with the only ceiling to be made.

David Miller (2/10): His careless shot was not fitting the senior statesman role that he has been given in the team. When the required run rate was well below six, he should’ve understood the fact that he needed to stay calm and assist Rahul with singles and doubles. Had Sam Curran not done the same in the last over, the entire team meeting could’ve been dedicated to his recklessness.

Mandeep Singh (2/10): Ditto for Mandeep. He is no longer a young domestic player going around. With the considerable amount of experience that he has garnered over the years and an India cap to go with that, Mandeep needs to understand that bragging for glory shots is not always the right way to approach things. His dismissal not only brought Punjab back in the game, but also put a lot of pressure on Rahul.

Sam Curran (8/10): Isn’t just surprising that three out of five bowlers ended up conceding exactly same amount of runs? Well, that is just a coincidence, but there was hardly anything to differentiate them on the basis of their bowling tonight. With the ball skidding through, all pacers took the benefit of it and Curran was no different. One extra point for his confidence to back his skill, and hit Nabi for five runs in three balls.

Sarfaraz Khan (6/10): Half-centurion from the last game, Sarfaraz Khan didn’t have to bat tonight, with Kings XI Punjab backing Curran for the last over. He just had to show his padded-up body on the camera. Looked very intense inside the helmet, after Siddarth Kaul finished his over, but he looked much relieved after the team won.

Ravichandran Ashwin (7.5/10): If the never-give-up spirit wants someone as its brand ambassador, it has to be Ravichandran Ashwin. In a day and age where googlies are the order of the day, Ashwin has made the carrom ball fashionable once again. His off-spin, which at times is hard to understand thanks to his varying release point, yielded him one wicket at an economy rate 7.50.

Ankit Rajpoot (7.5/10): Sunrisers struggled in the middle-overs, majorly due to the simple fact that Ankit Rajpoot had confused them in the beginning. By conceding just six runs in the first two overs, with a length that threatened to pick a wicket on every delivery, Rajpoot had a dream start and it is a shame that he doesn’t have any wickets to boast about his performance.

Mohammed Shami (7.5/10): Ashwin made an interesting choice of splitting Mohammed Shami’s spells into three parts. That reaped rich dividends as the team didn’t have to use a sixth bowling option while making sure that the opposition were never settle on the crease. Shami ended up picking only wicket, but a 7.50 economy rate helped him keep the team ahead.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman(5/10): This is where the new-age spinners stand apart. Jonny Bairstow had attacked the spinners with wonderful usage of his feet in the previous games and knowing that Mujeeb drifted the carrom ball into him to send the dangerman packing. That was the only moment of magic for the youngster though as David Warner and Vijay Shankar latter hit him to give his bowling figure a rather bad look.

KXIP vs SRH | Player Ratings - KL Rahul keeps his calm under pressure as Kings XI Punjab beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali thriller

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