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XtraTime Web Desk: Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul scored the first hundred of the 13th IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. Rahul’s 132 is also the highest score by an Indian in the cash rich league. He went past the 128* scored by Rishabh Pant in 2018. It was also the second hundred scored by the stylish Karnataka batsman in IPL. Rahul reached the landmark off 62 balls. His knock included 14 hits to the fence apart from 7 monstrous sixes.
The KXIP captain finished unbeaten on 132 off just 69 balls. This is the highest score by an IPL captain. Rahul, the Kings XI Punjab captain, opened the innings for his team and played the anchor, adding 57 runs for the first wicket with Mayank Agarwal and 57 more with Nicholas Pooran for the second wicket. The 28-year-old batsman did have his share of luck as he was dropped twice by his opposite number Virat Kohli. The RCB captain dropped Rahul twice in the deep, once of Steyn and then again off Navdeep Saini.
Rahul has now 2130 runs from 69 IPL matches at 44.37 and a strike rate of 140.22 with 2 hundreds and 16 fifties. Rahul was particularly severe on Dale Steyn, smashing the Proteas fast bowler for three sixes and two fours in the 19th over and then hitting Shivam Dube for two sixes and a four in the final over of the innings. Rahul is currently the Orange Cap holder with the highest runs so far in the cash rich league.
Rahul finished with a strike rate of 191.38 as Kings XI Punjab posted 206/3 in Match 6 of IPL 2020.