Dubai: Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul (KXIP) scored Thursday a scintillating century against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, Rahul (132 n o, 69b, 14×4, 7×6) said he was lacking confidence in his skills as a batsman heading into the team’s second IPL fixture. KXIP defeated RCB by 97 runs riding on Rahul’s knock.
“I have actually been not so confident (hitting it this well). I had a chat with Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) yesterday (Wednesday). He said how are you feeling. I said that I am not feeling completely in control of my batting. Then he said you must be joking, you are hitting really well. That boosted my confidence,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
Rahul had already spoken about his fears leading up to the IPL. He was worried about his touch considering he was coming back after a five-month long break due to COVID-19.
“Quite honestly I was nervous but I knew if I spend time in the middle, hit a few balls from the middle of bat, it will all settle down. I try to do (the same routines as I did when I was a player) but as a captain your time decreases and you are running around and doing a lot of things,” Rahul pointed out. Incidentally this is the first time that Rahul is captaining in the IPL.
“I still try to maintain the same routine. Once I am in the middle and during the toss is the only time I feel like a captain. Otherwise I try to balance being a player and the captain,” he pointed out.
Rahul said he was happy the way the team had played. “It’s as complete a team performance as it can get. We had few different plans going into this game. We knew RCB have a power-packed batting line up. So we had to get 2-3 wickets up front and that also meant putting runs on the board. The analyst, coaches and the management will be happy,” Rahul said.
The KXIP skipper was all praise for young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. “Something that has impressed me in him is his big heart. He comes back at the batsman even after getting hit. I watched the U-19 World Cup. He has a lot of fight in him. Every time I throw the ball he wants to do well,” Rahul informed.
