3 times KL Rahul failed to ace a simple chase in IPL
KL Rahul has been an incredible player in IPL cricket. He has scored 4151 runs in IPL cricket at an average of about 47.
He has been an integral part of various franchises in IPL cricket. Be it Royal Challengers Bangalore ("RCB"), Punjab Kings, or Lucknow Super Giants ("LSG"), his role at the top of the order has been of vital importance.
In the 116 matches he has played in the IPL, he has been a part of the winning team on 56 occasions and averages over 64 in the said games. In the 60 games that he has lost, his average dips to around 35, and the strike rate also falls from around 144 to 125.
At times, during a run chase, Rahul gets into a shell that results in a loss for his team. Here is a look at three such times Rahul failed to ace a run chase.
#1 68 from 61 balls against Gujarat Titans - IPL 2023
Match 30. WICKET! 19.2: K L Rahul 68(61) ct Jayant Yadav b Mohit Sharma, Lucknow Super Giants 126/4 bit.ly/TATAIPL-2023-30 #TATAIPL #LSGvGT #IPL2023
The Gujarat Titans scored 135 runs for the loss of six wickets in a group encounter against LSG at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
The home team looked in complete control during the run chase and needed just 30 runs to win in the last five overs. Skipper KL Rahul had reached his half-century and would have been hopeful to complete the game in a matter of time.
However, Rahul failed to get going in the death overs, with one, three, six, and five runs scored in the next four overs. LSG were left with a target of 12 runs in the last over.
KL Rahul was dismissed on the second ball of the final over, and LSG fell short of the target by seven runs. The former PBKS man scored 68 runs at a strike rate of 111.48 and failed to deliver for his team in the death overs.
#2 74 from 58 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders - IPL 2020
Punjab Kings looked to be in complete control of the run chase of 165 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a group encounter in IPL 2020. KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran were at the crease, and the Punjab Kings needed 21 runs to win from the last 17 balls with nine wickets in hand.
Pooran thereafter perished in the 18th over, and Rahul was dismissed on the last ball of the 19th over and scored 74 runs at a strike rate of 127.59. The said innings included only six boundaries and no maximums.
He failed to provide the finishing touches to the innings and lost the match by two runs despite being on the crease for 19 overs during the run chase. A game that looked to be in the complete grasp of the Punjab Kings was lost in the span of the last couple of overs.
What a win this for @KKRiders. They win by 2 runs and register another win in #Dream11IPL
#KXIPvKKR https://t.co/hdNC5pHenc
#3 94 from 60 balls against Mumbai Indians - IPL 2018
Despite having a strike rate of above 155 and batting for more than 18 overs, KL Rahul failed to get his team over the finish line in the 50th match of IPL 2018 at the Wankede Stadium, Mumbai.
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians scored 186 on a good batting wicket. The Punjab Kings looked to be in control of the run chase, with skipper Rahul scoring 94 from 60 balls and looking to get his side on the other line.
However, Rahul was dismissed in the penultimate over, and therefore the new batsmen found it difficult to get going from the word go. The home team won the match by a narrow margin of three runs.