Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul deposited a length delivery by Chennai Super Kings pacer Shardul Thakur over the short extra cover boundary to bring up his 50 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Shardul Thakur did get his revenge, dismissing Rahul off a wide cutter, where the batsman handed an easy catch to MS Dhoni. 

Rahul walked in hoping to eliminate the margins and end on the winning side for the second time this season. The Kings XI Punjab skipper, who already has a brilliant century and a fifty to his name this season, started prudently taking his time to settle on the sluggish Dubai pitch and 80-meter long boundary. The opener did place a few deliveries through CSK’s packed off-side field but hit his first maximum only after he had scored 46 runs.

Hitting Thakur for a six to bring up his 50, Rahul followed up with a slice over extra cover and then a delicate touch through the third man region. Holding the orange cap, after pulling it off fellow opener Mayank Agarwal’s head, KL Rahul made sure he kept one end safe while Agarwal and Mandeep Singh played short cameos.

The Chennai Super Kings’ bowling attack, guided by Mahendra Singh Dhoni from behind the wickets, seemed helpless to the KXIP opener’s form. Like the 132-run innings he scored versus Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rahul has shown maturity in playing the first 20 balls carefully and then taking on the bowlers in the death overs. His half century against Chennai Super Kings takes him past the 300 runs, on the highest run scorer table. He does not only sit on top of the rankings but also has the second, Mayank Agarwal more than 30 runs behind.