Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul produced a brilliant knock against the Chennai Super Kings on Friday, as he steered his side to a comprehensive 8-wicket win at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Chasing a 177-run target on a sluggish surface, Rahul attacked the CSK bowlers around the park as he scored a valiant 82 off 53 balls and forged a 134-run stand alongside Quinton de Kock (54) for the opening wicket.

Rahul made a particularly quick start to his innings, soaking the pressure in the initial overs as Quinton de Kock struggled to find boundaries. Rahul had raced to 33 off just 16 deliveries within the powerplay and went on to reach his half-century in just 31 balls. This was a welcome change from his earlier knocks – not only in this season but in the last few years at the IPL, where he would often play the anchor role and preserve his wicket.

During the post-match presentation, when KL Rahul was asked about his aggressive intent in the early part of his innings, the LSG skipper stated that he assessed the conditions and took his chances, playing the balls on their merit.

“I have been trying to assess the situation, and today it came off. With Chennai's spinners, they tried to put brakes on us. We tried to get to a good start. Tried to take them down, luckily it came off. When your partnership goes on, you can take a few more chances. Glad that it happened,” Rahul said.

Rahul finished with a strike rate of 154.71 in his innings, as LSG chased down the target with an over to spare. The skipper also jumped into the top five in the list of highest scorers in IPL 2024 so far.

Rahul ‘still 50-50’ for T20 WC

Despite his match-winning knock, former India batter Robin Uthappa, during his appearance as an expert on JioCinema after the match, stated that a lot depends on whether Rahul can maintain his aggressive approach in the season. Uthappa also expressed his surprise at the LSG skipper going into his shell despite boasting of an array of shots.

“Two things for me that, I would say, still 50-50. One was his health; the second was the way he was batting a couple of weeks ago. The last 3-4 games, the way he has batted, was phenomenal to watch. When he is on song, when he is playing on the merit of the ball, he's class. He makes batting look so good. He's one of those guys who make it a delightful experience,” Uthappa said.

“The unconventional shots, the upper-cut, or the backfoot punch over the extra cover for a six… I look at that and I'm like, ‘how is this guy doing (that)?’ The skill effort that he possesses… he has so much time. The thing is that the guy with that much ability is going into a shell, saying I need to bat long tonight… he doesn't need to do that. Just back your skill,” he further said.

Rahul has not been a part of the Indian T20I team since December 2022; even as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a comeback to the side in India's last T20I outing against Afghanistan in January earlier this year, Rahul continued to remain absent despite being fit.

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