Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey
KL Rahul had positive words to say about fellow opener Mayank Agarwal after the latter’s splendid knock of 89 runs took Kings XI Punjab extremely close to a victory against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. Batting second, they were reduced to 55 runs at the loss of five wickets at the end of 10 overs. Agarwal stuck around right from the start and stitched valuable partnerships with Krishnappa Gowtham and Chris Jordan to eventually level the scores.
“It is bittersweet. At the end of 10 overs, I would have taken the Super Over. We wish to learn from our mistakes and build as a team. Mayank was unbelievable. To get the game that close is a magical effort. That is the type of innings we expect from someone like him. Nice to see him bring his confidence to the IPL,” KL Rahul said of his teammate who started the game ahead of T20 maestro Chris Gayle in Punjab’s first encounter of the season.
It is a known factor that the tracks in the Middle East aren’t going to be exactly batsmen-friendly to produce high-scoring games. Both the teams barely managed to cross the 150 run barrier last night and this makes one wonder whether the pitches will be of a similar nature going ahead in the tournament. “Like I said at the toss, we didn’t really know what to expect of the pitch. Didn’t think it would be sticky, but both teams got 150+,” the skipper remarked about the pitch.
The Karnataka-based batsman is known to possess a calm demeanor and many believe that it will reflect in his captaincy too. Kings XI might have been a tad bit short of a positive result yesterday, but the comeback that they made in the second half of the innings courtesy of Agarwal’s innings was quite commendable. Considering it was his first match leading a franchise in the IPL, Rahul mentioned, “I’d gladly take it as a captain, most important is the effort. We made a few mistakes, but that’s a learning for the group. If you saw the dressing room, even at 55 for 5 it was a calm dressing room.”
Kings XI Punjab next play Royal Challengers Bengaluru on September 24 at the Dubai International Stadium.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
