KL Rahul lends support to Glenn Maxwell: The captain of Kings XI Punjab has expressed confidence in the senior all-rounder’s skills.
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Kings XI Punjab captain Lokesh Rahul has admitted that his top four batsmen should take the responsibility of finishing a match especially when tight finishes have costed them a lot in the ongoing 13th season of the Indian Premier League.
In their last match against Delhi Capitals, Kings XI required 24 runs to win in the last five overs with six wickets in hand. Despite a well-set Glenn Maxwell in the middle, Punjab won the match with an over to go and Maxwell back in the pavilion.
“My heart keeps reaching new limits every game but yeah it is nice to finish it in the 19th over for once. I did wonder, I won’t lie, especially when you are playing with six batsmen and an all-rounder.
And @kxip is looking dangerous and making a statement! @nicholas_47 the game changer ! Beautiful to watch ! What a player !!! #DCvKXIP #IPL2020
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 20, 2020
“It is something every team talks about – the set batsman has to finish off the game. One of the top four does that. We have to correct that,” Rahul told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match.
KL Rahul lends support to Glenn Maxwell
After Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat, Kings XI’s bowlers did exceedingly well to restrict the opposition to 164/5 in 20 overs despite opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan scoring his second IPL century.
Having picked 16 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 20.37, an economy rate of 8.43 and a strike rate of 14.50, Punjab’s Mohammed Shami is not just their highest wicket-taker but also the second-highest among all teams.
Apart from Shami, Rahul also lauded 21-year old Arshdeep Singh who has picked six wickets in as many matches at an average and strike rate of 23.83 and 16 respectively.
“They have been bowling really well. [Mohammed] Shami, obviously, is coming in with confidence from the last game. He is our senior bowler, an international, he is getting better and better every game. Arshdeep [Singh] bowled two overs in the Powerplay and one at the death. To nail six out of six yorkers is great,”. Rahul added.
Being asked about out-of-form all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Rahul lent support behind the 32-year old Australian player despite him being amidst a rut until this match where he scored 32 (24) before getting out to a rash shot.
“Glenn [Maxwell] has been batting well in the nets. He is a great team man. We trust him. It was important to back him. It was good to see him get time in the middle. Hopefully he carries this good work into the coming games,” Rahul mentioned.
In 10 IPL 2020 T20s, Maxwell has scored 90 runs at an average and strike rate of 15 and 103.44 respectively. Since the start of 2018, Maxwell’s 227 IPL runs in 21 outings have come at an average and strike rate of 13.35 and 124.04 respectively.
