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'His presence of mind is so calm. He's matured way beyond his age': Pietersen's huge praise for 'dynamic' India star
The former England skipper Kevin Pietersen labelled the Indian as a dynamic player with a solid technique.
Mumbai Indians were beaten by 36 runs against Lucknow Super Kings on Sunday to pile further misery onto their IPL season. It was eighth consecutive defeat for Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai, the most successful side in the league's history with five titles, who remain winless so far. Chasing 169 for the win, a spirited bowling display from Lucknow bowlers restricted Mumbai to 132 for 8 in 20 overs, with Dushmantha Chameera conceding just 14 runs in four overs. Debutant Mohsin Khan returned 1/27 in his four while all-rounder Krunal Pandya plucked three wickets in the final over to finish 3/19. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)
While the bowlers were the main attraction in the second innings, Lucknow skipper KL Rahul made headlines for his sublime ton at the Wankhede Stadium. His 103 not out off 62 balls was laced with 12 fours and four sixes, helping his team notch up a competitive total on the scoreboard.
Rahul equalled the record of Rohit Sharma for scoring most centuries (6) by an Indian in the T20 cricket. It was the 30-year-old batter's second ton in the IPL 2022 and both have come against the same opponents, Mumbai Indians.
He paced his innings well after Lucknow scored only 32 for one in the first six overs. He looked confident during his stay in the middle, earning massive praise from cricket pundits and fans.
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen before the game had labelled Rahul as a dynamic player, who has matured way beyond his age. The star Indian is currently second after Rajasthan Royals' opener Jos Buttler in the Orange Cap standings. While the Englishman has 491 runs under his belt, Rahul has got 368 runs so far in the 10-team tournament.
Speaking on 'Cricket Live' on Star Sports, Pietersen said: "He's such a dynamic player and that's going to bear the fruit of his success for many a year. To continue scoring runs for different franchises is a damn hard (thing) to do because there's so much pressure going into these new franchises. There's so much pressure on you when you get bought for such big money."
"But when you have technique as solid as his, you've got a mindset as good as his, and you're calm as much as he's calm. And you can hear that in the way he talks to us. His presence of mind is so calm. He's matured way beyond his age. He'll just be proud of what he does and he'll have to continue to make sure that he focuses on his job because captaincy aside, franchise aside, his team does well when he's scored big runs," he added.
Mumbai are now sitting at the bottom of the points table, having registered the dubious record of losing eight consecutive defeats. Lucknow, on the other hand, have entered the top-4 bracket. They are in the fourth spot with five wins in eight games.
