IPL 2021: KL Rahul wins Orange Cap back from du Plessis and Gaikwad during CSK vs PBKS

During Punjab Kings’ match against Chennai Super Kings(CSK) on Thursday, the Indian Premier League(IPL) 2021 Orange cap moved from PBKS skipper KL Rahul, to CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis, before coming back to Rahul. Rahul started the match at the Dubai International Stadium, with the orange cap to his name, which was then passed on to Ruturaj Gaikwad after he scored 12 runs off 14 deliveries. After Gaikwad’s dismissal, his fellow opener Du Plessis became the highest-scorer of the IPL 2021, with a knock of 76 runs off 55 balls. 

As Du Plessis held his crease, other CSK batters found it tough to find their form and returned back to the pavilion at regular intervals. During the innings, Du Plessis was involved in the highest partnership of 67 runs off 45 balls with Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket. CSK ended up setting a target of 135 runs for PBKS, courtesy of Du Plessis’ innings that earned him the Orange Cap. In reply to the target, PBKS skipper Rahul played an innings of 98 runs off just 42 balls and made his team victorious within thirteen overs of the match. 

Had complete clarity about what I wanted to do: KL Rahul

As Rahul hit his third-best IPL innings ever, Du Plessis’s joy was short-lived as Rahul found himself at the top of the list of players with the most runs in IPL 2021. Rahul hit eight sixes and seven fours against CSK at a strike rate of 233.33. With his best innings so far in the season, Rahul has now amassed a total of 626 runs while playing for PBKS in 13 matches. He averages 62.60 runs per game and has an overall strike rate of 138.80 in IPL 2021. On the other hand, DuPlessis and Gaikwad follow Rahul with 546 and 533 runs respectively to their credit.

After winning the match against CSK, the KL Rahul-led PBKS earned two crucial points and reached the fifth position in the IPL 2021 points table., Rahul was awarded the Payer of the match innings and he expressed his thoughts on the much-needed win by PBKS. Speaking in the post-match press conference, Rahul said, “ It was really hot today. The plan was clear. The numbers guys told us a few permutations and combinations. We wanted to score it before 14 overs. Just one of those days when it comes off. Had complete clarity of what I wanted to do. I feel like I may end up letting the team down if I play how I want to play. But today, this was how I needed to play. Today was one of those days where I could hit every ball. No better feeling than hitting the ball from the middle of the bat”. Meanwhile, CSK having qualified for the IPL 2021 play-offs sit second in the standings.

CSK vs PBKS, post-match presentation:

Image: instagram@iplt20/ @punjabkingsipl/ BCCI