KL Rahul continues brilliant run, scores third consecutive fifty for Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul scored his third consecutive half century of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 for Kings XI Punjab in Indore on Saturday.

KL Rahul continued his magnificent run in IPL 2018 as he hit yet another fifty for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Saturday. (HIGHLIGHTS)

KL Rahul in action for Kings XI Punjab during their IPL 2018 encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders in Indore on Saturday. (PTI)

Chasing 246, Rahul and Chris Gayle got KXIP off to an excellent start, putting on fifty plus stand. The Indian was the aggressive partner, smashing Sunil Narine off consecutive sixes in the first over of the innings. The first one was hit over mid-off while the second was lifted over cover. (SCORECARD)

In the fifth over, Rahul carved a full and wide delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna to the third-man fence.

The wickets of Gayle (21) and Mayank Agarwal (7) in the sixth over didn’t stop Rahul as he continued to pile on the runs and brought up his fifth half-century of the season. He reached the milestone with a six off Andre Russell over the third-man region.

Then came the big moment in the game as Rahul fell to Sunil Narine in the 9th over. The KXIP opener wanted to play the slog sweep but got an inside edge onto his thigh pad and the ball spun back onto the stumps. His 29-ball 66 was studded with seven maximums and two boundaries.

Earlier, Sunil Narine (75) and Dinesh Karthik’s (50) quickfire knocks helped KKR post 245/6, the highest team total in this edition.