IPL 2021: “Punjab Kings is not for the light hearted,” says KL Rahul

In a nail-biter match against the Rajasthan Royals, the newly named Punjab Kings emerged victorious. PBKS restricted RR to a total of 217/7, after a thrilling last over by Arshdeep. RR lost by 4 runs. 

KL Rahul (91 off 50) and Deepak Hooda powered Punjab Kings to a massive total of 221/6 after batting first on the batsman friendly wicket. Rahul smashed seven fours and five sixes while Hooda plundered six maximums and four boundaries. 

During a recap of how the match went for his side, Arshdeep asked KL Rahul how he felt about his team reaching this nail-biter stage. Rahul responded by saying: “As a captain and a cricketer, I wouldn’t want to be part of such games, but Punjab Kings is not for the light hearted.”

“Fingers crossed, we would win a few games easily but this was a very important start for us,” he added.

Thriller synonymous with Punjab

Speaking at the post match conference, Rahul said “It was an amazing innings from Hooda, and that’s the kind of fearless batting we want to see in the IPL. We have been tentative sometimes, and it’s important for us to play fearlessly at times, so I am happy that the expectations are being understood and met. Gayle and Hooda were both good that way.”

“I didn’t stop believing in the team, and we knew a couple of wickets will bring us back. The game went deep only because me included, we dropped some sitters. We bowled well until about 11-12 overs. We’re used to this, and it’s not something new for us, but a win like this brings the team together,” he added. 

Rajasthan were off to a poor start, losing Ben Stokes and Manan Vohra within 4 overs. Sanju Samson soldiered on the responsibilities, scoring a century for just 54 runs. As interesting as the match was, Royals almost won courtesy Samson’s 119 off 63 balls. However, the game changed when the left-arm pacer Arshdeep defended 13 runs in the last over. Riyan Parag’s fine hitting and Samson 119 kept RR in the chase. However, as Samson went for a six, was caught out by Deepak Hooda leading Punjab to a 4-run win.