While the new Indian Premier League (IPL) team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has got some good starts in their debut IPL season, their skipper KL Rahul has also brought out his familiar IPL batting performances. Last Monday (4th April) night, Rahul climbed up the fifth position in the list of most 50+ scores by the Indian cricketers after surpassing Gautam Gambhir.
It was the 12th game of the IPL 2022 where LSG met SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the very first time at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy (Mumbai). LSG, who won once after losing their season opener against the other IPL debutants Gujarat Titans, were forced to bat first in the latest game.
KL Rahul scored 68 runs despite the team’s poor start
Though LSG were deeply struggling on 27/3 in 4.5 overs, their dependable opener and skipper Rahul was still batting at the crease. He then had an 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Deepak Hooda, which rescued the team and helped them to set up a challenging first innings total.
While Hooda scored 51 off 33 balls, captain Rahul scored 68 runs off 50 balls with the help of 6 fours and only six. During the first ball of the 19th over of that first innings, Rahul was trapped for lbw by the SRH left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan. But LSG ultimately managed to score 169/7 in 20 overs.
KL Rahul is in the elite Indian group
It was the 50th T20 half-century for KL Rahul, who has also scored four more T20 centuries. While his latest knock was his 54th T20 50+ score, he moved up the fifth spot in the list of most T20 50+ scores by Indian batters. In this promotion, Rahul surpassed the former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who recorded 53 times 50+ scores in his overall T20 career.
Indian players with Most T20 50+ scores (updated till 4th April 2022)
· Virat Kohli – 81 times (5 centuries + 76 half-centuries)
· Rohit Sharma – 75 times (6 centuries + 69 half-centuries)
· Shikhar Dhawan – 65 times (2 centuries + 63 half-centuries)
· Suresh Raina – 57 times (4 centuries + 53 half-centuries)
· KL Rahul – 54 times (4 centuries + 50 half-centuries)
· Gautam Gambhir – 53 times (53 half-centuries)
The joint-most expensive IPL player KL Rahul scored 0, 40 and 68 runs in the IPL 2022 starters
KL Rahul started this IPL season with a golden duck against Gujarat Lions, where his team also suffered a defeat in their historic first-ever T20 match. But in their next game, Rahul-led LSG beat the defending IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), where his 40 off 26 balls played a vital role in successfully chasing the 211-run target.
LSG created a new history in their record book
Coming back to the latest 12th match of the IPL 2022, LSG restricted SRH for 157/9 as the new IPL team recorded a 12-run victory. It was not only the second victory for LSG, but it was also their first success to defend their first innings total.
The LSG right-arm pacer Avesh Khan won the Player of the Match award for his incredible bowling performance of 4-0-24-4.
