Punjab Kings have a new name and they would hope this brings a change in their fortunes as well. The team, known as Kings XI Punjab till last year, has finished 6th in the last two seasons of the IPL, despite having the league's most prolific batsman over the past three season in their ranks.
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KL Rahul has amassed 1922 runs in the last three seasons and also won the Orange Cap in 2020. Rahul's performances with the bat might not have aided his team to qualify for the play-offs but he remains his side's biggest match-winner alongside the evergreen Chris Gayle.
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As Punjab Kings begin their campaign in IPL 2021 against Rajasthan Royals, Rahul would hope to give his team a winning start and get runs under his belt. So, how can newly appointed RR captain Sanju Samson hope to stop Rahul from getting off to a good start either while batting first or chasing?
The PBKS skipper has no perceived weaknesses as such but is more at ease against pace bowlers as he likes when the ball is coming on to the bat. While Rahul is agood player of spin too, he tends to struggle a bit against tweakers who take the ball away from the right-hander.
{{/usCountry}}The PBKS skipper has no perceived weaknesses as such but is more at ease against pace bowlers as he likes when the ball is coming on to the bat. While Rahul is agood player of spin too, he tends to struggle a bit against tweakers who take the ball away from the right-hander.
{{/usCountry}}A look at his performance against all bowler types show that he struggles most against left-arm orthodox bowlers.
Even leg-spinner can cause him problems but not when bowling to him in the powerplay. It is the middle overs when a leg spinner gives Rahul trouble.
The other interesting aspect of Rahul's IPL performance in the last three seasons has been the difference between him batting first and while chasing. His numbers while chasing are far superior and that is something Rajasthan Royals will have to be watchful about.
Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, KC Cariappa, Riyan Parag and Mayank Markande are all spin bowlers who can take the ball away from KL Rahul and Samson will have to use them wisely to stop his counterpart.