Ravi Bishnoi, the 20-year-old leg spinner playing in only his second game in IPL was praised by skipper KL Rahul who played a captain’s knock on Thursday as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) thrashed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)by 97 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. With that victory, KXIP have displaced Mumbai Indians from the top spot as they are ahead in net run rate in the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) points table.
KL Rahul smashed 132 runs off 69 balls as KXIP gave RCB a difficult target of 207 to chase. KXIP bowlers then performed brilliantly as they bowled out RCB for just 109 runs. The 20-year-old leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was one of the star performers with the ball for KXIP. India’s U-19 cricket star picked up 3 wickets on Thursday as he picked up the vital wickets of Aaron Finch, Washington Sundar and Umesh Yadav with his bowling as KXIP won the match easily.
KL Rahul
Ravi Bishnoi Has A Lot Of Fight In Him: KL Rahul
KXIP captain KL Rahul lavishly praised spinner Ravi Bishnoi as he applauded his fighting spirit after the match.
“Something that has impressed me in him (Bishoni’s heart of coming back even after an expensive start). I watched the U-19 World Cup. He has a lot of fight in him.” added Rahul.
KL Rahul also said that he was lacking confidence as a batsman but was assured that he was playing well by teammate Glenn Maxwell heading into the team’s second IPL fixture. KL Rahul starred with an unbeaten 132 off 69 balls which was the highest individual score by an Indian batsman as KXIP outplayed RCB by 97 runs.
“I have actually been not so confident (hitting it this well). I had a chat with Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) yesterday, he said how are you feeling, I said that I am not feeling completely in control of my batting, he said you must be joking, you are hitting really well,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
Ravi Bishnoi
He was nervous leading up to the IPL, considering he was coming back after a five-month-long induced break due to the COVID-19 pandemic which led to cancellations and postponements of various sporting events.
“Quite honestly I was nervous but I knew if I spend time in the middle, hit a few balls from the middle of bat, it will all settle down.” Rahul said.
Leg spinners remain a huge attraction in the shortest format and youngster Ravi Bishnoi has it in him to be the next star spinner. The 20-year-old was picked up for a whopping Rs. 2 crores at the auction. In the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020, Ravi Bishnoi picked up as many as 17 wickets from just six games finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
KL Rahul: It Is A Complete Team Performance
KL Rahul is captaining in the IPL 2020 for KXIP for the first time succeeding Ravichandran Ashwin.
“I still try to maintain the same routine. Once I am in the middle and during the toss is the only time I feel like a captain and otherwise I try to balance being a player and the captain,” he said.
Murugan Ashwin
After KL Rahul starred with the bat scoring a century, KXIP bowlers led by Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin, both of whom picked up three wickets, put a disciplined performance to bundle out RCB for just 109 in 17 overs.
“It’s as complete a team performance as it can get. We knew RCB have a power packed batting line up and we had to get 2-3 wickets up front and that also meant putting runs on the board, we know what these guys can do if they get set.”
KL Rahul won the Man of the Match as well as getting the ‘Orange Cap’ for being leading run-scorer in the tournament with 153 runs.
