Kings XI Punjab won their first match of this edition by 6 wickets against Delhi Daredevils at Mohali.
After an “above average” performance by the Punjab bowlers, DD posted a total of 166/7 in 20 overs. Gautam Gambhir scored a belligerent half-century in his return to home. Mujeeb Zadran was the star with the ball as he ended with figures 4-0-28-2.
KL Rahul scored the fastest IPL fifty off 14 deliveries surpassing Yusuf Pathan”s record.
The Kings XI Punjab opener smashed the bowlers to the nook and corner of the ground and the bowlers had no clue of bowling a peculiar type of delivery to him.
He scored 51 off 16 deliveries before getting dismissed by Trent Boult. His knock included 6 boundaries and 4 huge sixes.
It is to be noted that Punjab is the third team for KL in IPL career. His previous appearances were from Hyderabad (SRH) and Bangalore franchise (RCB).
Rahul was bought by Punjab for a whopping 11 crore in the auctions held in the month of January.
This is how Twitter reacted to KL Rahul”s innings.
#KLRahul what a batting Bro… unbelievable batting to see… #EaCricket2007 😂 @ChennaiIPL #KXIPvDD #IPL2018 #I pic.twitter.com/ddkjXP86Fb
— JoJe (@JoshuaJeym) April 8, 2018
#KLRahul hits fastest 50 ever in the history of IPl.. 14 balls 50. Superb #DDvKXIP
— Sumit Kadel (@SumitkadeI) April 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/vitalhumour/status/982971915219492864?s=20
#KLRahul is very good on the eyes! Uncomplicated with his approach and his Carnage has a lot of class and character involved in it. Lot of normal cricket shots in his shot making . #KXIPvDD
— Mikkhail Vaswani (@MikkhailVaswani) April 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/Rajj8990/status/982961074847690752?s=20
https://twitter.com/adityakumar480/status/982964411450015744?s=20
Fastest ever fifty in #IPL history, of just 14 balls – thank you @klrahul11.. 6 4s and 4 6s.. Amazing is the word! Fireworks 🎆🎇! #Rahul #KXIPvDD #KLRahul
— Kaushik LM (@LMKMovieManiac) April 8, 2018
That's what you call an innings 😍
@klrahul11 #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi #KXIPvDD pic.twitter.com/fGCkcCHE8E— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 8, 2018
Kl Rahul 😱😱he can bat that good🤐I always doubted him😶😂😂😂😂😂 #VIVOIPL #IPL11 #KLRahul#KXIPvDD
— 🙇 (@Hermaze__) April 8, 2018
This innings is a statement from KL Rahul. #KXIPvDD #KLRahul
— Shivam Punyani (@_punyanishivam) April 8, 2018
Take a bow @klrahul11 #VIVOIPL #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi 🎈 pic.twitter.com/fFFymrgMik
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 8, 2018
I don't know about this match #KXIPvDD but @DelhiDaredevils will play some exciting #Cricket this season …by the way #KLRahul smashed fastest #IPL 🏏 half Century
— ∆kshay (@akshayjoshi_who) April 8, 2018
Chris Gayle's batting rightie.#IPL2018 #KXIPvDD #KLRahul
— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) April 8, 2018
Wow, that is some start from KL Rahul, making a statement about where he should bat!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 8, 2018
Fastest #VIVOIPL 50s:
KL Rahul – 14 Balls
Y Pathan – 15 Balls
S Narine – 15 Balls
S Raina – 16 Balls
#KXIPvDD pic.twitter.com/Fqj0SpUpAB— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 8, 2018
A reminder that KL Rahul is not a regular in the Indian limited overs teams.
— Alagappan Vijayakumar (@IndianMourinho) April 8, 2018
DD might be 15 runs short in setting the target. Fastest ever #IPL fifty by KL Rahul is certainly not going to help their cause. #KXIPvsDD superb batting display
— zaheer khan (@ImZaheer) April 8, 2018
Well done KL Rahul on smashing the fastest @IPL half-century off just 14 balls, leapfrogging Sunil Narine and Yusuf Pathan's 15-ball record!#KXIPvDD #CricketMeriJaan #IPL2018
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 8, 2018
KL Rahul(14 Balls) Beats Yousuf Pathan (15 Balls) To Score Fastest IPL Half-century. This Comes In A #KXIPvDD Match That People Expected To Be Boring. This #IPL11 Is Going To Be Unpredictable. 👏💪
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) April 8, 2018
Beast mode ✅
💪💪#KXIPvDD #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi pic.twitter.com/LqsfYpnjbC— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 8, 2018
KL Rahul really put it beyond the Daredevils with that blistering 14 ball 50. Good beginning for Ashwin the captain. #KXIPvDD
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 8, 2018
Holy heck… what a rippa half ton by KL Rahul here at Mohali 😎👏👍 Fastest 50 ever in IPL history! Extraordinary exhibition of clean classical striking 😱 #VIVOIPL2018 #smashing&bashingbaby!
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) April 8, 2018
DD players to KL Rahul: Calm down Rahul! We won't call you Rahul Gandhi ever again! #IPL
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) April 8, 2018
Mind boggling stuff that was from KL Rahul. Has set his team up, done his job 👏👏👏
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 8, 2018
KL Rahul's next match is against RCB & that too in his home ground. DEAD.
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) April 8, 2018
14 BALLS – FASTEST FIFTY IN VIVO IPL HIT BY KL RAHUL
Previous record: Sunil Narine and Yusuf Pathan – 15 balls
Fastest T20 fifty: Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle – 12 balls each
Both are in the @lionsdenkxip dugout#KXIPvDD— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) April 8, 2018