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KL Rahul came in to bat in just the fourth over of the match after Jake Fraser-McGurk and Karun Nair had departed early.
KL Rahul played a handy knock but Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t like his approach (Picture credit: AP)
Star India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has said that KL Rahul should have played a more attacking innings to ensure that the Delhi Capitals’ innings got a bit of impetus, but instead, his knock looked like he wanted to save his wicket first and then score runs.
Delhi moved to the top of the points table after a thrilling Super Over win against the Rajasthan Royals, thanks to Mitchell Starc’s match-winning spell.
Pujara said that Rahul, in his new role at No. 4, has to be more aggressive in the middle overs.
“KL, being the senior player, I think he wanted to play 15-20 balls and then go out. But, at the same time, he should have attacked a bit more, because he was set, he had enough chance to look at the pitch, and he knew the conditions by then,” Pujara said while speaking on ESPNCricinfo.
“His batting order has changed a bit, too. So, I mean, he is just trying to figure out. He normally does go hard in the powerplay, but after that, that is the period where he needs to be a little more aggressive. It looked like he wanted to save his wicket rather than play his natural game,” Pujara added.
Rahul couldn’t make an impact in Delhi’s previous clash against the Mumbai Indians either. He scored 15 runs off 13 deliveries before being dismissed by Karn Sharma, and on Wednesday, scored 38 off 32 before Jofra Archer got the better of him.
In the Super Over, Rahul and Tristan Stubbs kept their nerves in check, slamming a boundary and a six respectively to take the hosts to their first victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Earlier, if Abishek Porel and Rahul (38) laid a solid foundation with a 63-run partnership, Axar Patel’s blistering 13-ball 34, along with Stubbs’ (34 not out off 18 balls) late surge, provided the final flourish in an innings where momentum swung like a pendulum between the two teams.
Porel found a steady ally in seasoned Rahul. The latter brought a sense of calm amidst a storm, easing the pressure with two towering sixes, one launched down the ground off Tushar Deshpande in the 7th.
DC play their next match against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday, April 19, in Ahmedabad.
(With PTI Inputs)
