It was his 100th IPL game and KL Rahul made sure that it turned out to be a "special" one. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper scored 103 not out off 60 balls to guide his team to an 18-run win against a depleted Mumbai Indians side on Saturday. The batter display a wide array of shots to reach his fifty in 33 deliveries and accelerated his innings as the game progressed.
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He first shared a fifty-plus opening stand with Quinton de Kock and then added 72 runs with Manish Pandey. Deepak Hooda also chipped in with an 8-ball 15 cameo, adding 43 runs with his skipper. Lucknow maintained a steady scoring rate and Rahul was in imperious form at the Brabourne Stadium.
He ended up scoring an unbeaten 103 off just 60 balls. It was also his third IPL ton and second three-figure score while leading an IPL team. The LSG skipper is now only the second player after Virat Kohli to have multiple IPL centuries while leading a team.
He brought up his ton in the penultimate over with a boundary against Tymal Mills and celebrated with his trademark 'shut the outside' noise celebration. But legendary Sunil Gavaskar was quick to comment on it, asking the talented batter to receive the applause instead of blocking it.
“He is shutting down the noise when you've got a hundred, you want to take the applause. He should do this when he has scored four, five, six runs but when you got a hundred take it out enjoy the applause everybody is applauding you, ” Gavaskar told official broadcaster during the innings break.
{{/usCountry}}“He is shutting down the noise when you've got a hundred, you want to take the applause. He should do this when he has scored four, five, six runs but when you got a hundred take it out enjoy the applause everybody is applauding you, ” Gavaskar told official broadcaster during the innings break.
{{/usCountry}}“I do not understand, let all the applause come through, not shut it out, you shut it out when you get out on zero, one, two, three, four or something like that’s when you put your fingers in ears,” Gavaskar further added while commentating.
Lucknow have four wins from six games while MI have lost a dozen games on the trot for the first time in 15 editions of the IPL. Lucknow next lock horns with buoyant Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday.