Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on KL Rahul for his magnum opus knock of 152 runs off just 67 balls against Punjab Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday. The flamboyant batter scored 16 fours and nine sixes in his blistering knock.
Rahul added 220 runs off just 95 balls with Nitish Rana, who scored a fine knock of 91 runs off 44 balls, for the second wicket.
Thus, the duo played an instrumental role in helping DC post a mammoth total of 264 runs on the board. However, their efforts went in vain as PBKS won comprehensively by six wickets.
Meanwhile, Rahul became the third batter in IPL history to cross 150+ score after Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle, and the first Indian batter to do so.
“He has become the Indian with the highest score in the IPL. He was brilliant. When you can play like this, you are criticized when you don’t try to play like this. His ability is so special that it’s enviable. He scores runs at such speed despite being technically compact. However, when the intent is not seen at times, or when he slows down excessively, you don’t expect that from him because he can do this,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“That’s why he is criticized. People throw stones only at a tree that bears fruit. His ceiling is so high that you feel hurt when you see anything less than that. There is no slogging with his batting. It is just sheer class. The discussion happens on the strike rate at times due to a lack of intent. So that is avoidable, but this was a brilliant knock,” he observed.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator praised Punjab Kings for their superb run-chase. Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer scored 76 and 71 runs respectively to take their team over the line and Chopra said the Mohali-based franchise is head and shoulders above the rest after they continued their unbeaten run.
“That’s why he is criticized. People throw stones only at a tree that bears fruit. His ceiling is so high that you feel hurt when you see anything less than that. There is no slogging with his batting. It is just sheer class. The discussion happens on the strike rate at times due to a lack of intent. So that is avoidable, but this was a brilliant knock,” he observed.
Punjab Kings will next take on Rajasthan Royals at New Chandigarh on Tuesday.
