KL Rahul praised the effectiveness of playing proper cricket shots and the left-right hand combination with Nitish Rana following his outstanding century against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Rahul delivered a free-flowing innings, scoring 152 not out off 67 balls, including 16 fours and nine sixes. His score marked the highest individual by an Indian in the IPL and men’s T20 cricket, making him the third player to reach 150 runs in a single innings.

Reflecting on batting in Delhi’s intense heat, Rahul said, “I have taken a beating due to the heat, just need to hydrate and recover. So it’s mixed emotions at the moment. I hope I do not cramp later on.”

He also commended Nitish Rana’s 44-ball 91, featuring 11 fours and four sixes, stating, “Phenomenal knock from Nitish. The way he came in, I think when you can hit proper cricket shots and get boundaries in the first six overs and continue to do that, I think the bowling team feels a lot more pressure when you are trying to hit big sixes or trying to slog, then the opposition already feels like they are in with a chance. But when you are playing proper cricket shots and playing merit of the ball and still getting boundaries and still being able to score over 200 strike rates, it just puts a lot of pressure on them. And I think he did that beautifully, and I think the right-hand, left-hand combination worked as well.”

Regarding the pitch, Rahul described it as on the slower side but expressed satisfaction with the way he and Rana read the ball. “We just continued batting and putting pressure on the bowlers. I mean only towards the end was I premeditating. Early on, I think for the first 70-80 runs, I was not really premeditating. I was just in a mindset to hit boundaries and put pressure on the bowlers. My strength is always to play proper cricket shots, and I was trying to back that and try to believe that that is good enough to get my team past 250, and I continued to do that. Only at the back end was I premeditating, and when the field is set, when the bowlers go to the wide off-field or a spinner field, you know kind of what to expect,” he concluded.