KL Rahul scored a 50-ball 91 with a strike rate of 182 in Punjab Kings’ win over Rajasthan Royals on Monday. It was a close game with Punjab winning by just four runs having posted 221 with the bat. Sanju Samson scored a valiant 119 but for a losing cause as the Punjab bowlers had no answer against his belligerent batting. Meanwhile, during the course of Rahul’s innings former Indian batsmen Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted about KL Rahul’s strike-rate. Rahul also went past 2000 runs in the IPL for the franchise.
Seeing KL Rahul light up the Wankhede stadium with his fours and sixes, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his delight on social media.
“Loved the 91 but loved the strike rate even more! If K L Rahul bats at a strike rate of over 140, which he can easily, Punjab Kings will have a much better IPL than the last,” wrote Manjrekar on Twitter.
Sanjay Manjrekar Praises KL Rahul
Loved the 91 but loved the strike rate even more! If K L Rahul bats at a strike rate of over 140, which he can easily, Punjab Kings will have a much better IPL than the last. #PunjabKings
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 12, 2021
Manjrekar was the one who criticised Rahul of playing with a slow strike rate in IPL 2020. Despite ending as the top scorer in IPL, Rahul was criticised for his strike-rate.
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“For Punjab to go up in the points table, KL Rahul must not worry about others,” stressed Manjrekar. He seemed to be just holding back a gear. It was a clear case of a batsman who could score more quickly, but wasn’t prepared to.”
“When I looked at his numbers that season (2019), the strike rate had dropped significantly, in the 130s (135.38). This year too his strike rate is again in the same region of 130,” he wrote for TOI.
Before the start of the 14th edition of the T20 league, Wasim Jaffer said that the balance of the team now gives Rahul the license to open his arms furthermore.
“KL batted a little timidly last season. He probably batted deeper because there was not much batting after No. 5, and Glenn Maxwell was not firing. He took that responsibility on himself to try and stay at the crease and get the job done. This time around, everyone will see an aggressive KL Rahul for sure,” Jaffer was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
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