PBKS vs LSG: KL Rahul, in red-hot form, takes on old teammates in crunch battle
India Today
IPL 2022, PBKS vs LSG: KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal had emerged as a menacing opening pair at Punjab Kings over the last 4 years but the two good mates from Karnataka will be up against each other in Friday's much-anticipated match in Pune.
Two good mates, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal will go against each other when Lucknow Super Giants take on Punjab Kings at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, April 29.
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul forged one of the most successful and intimidating opening partnerships at Punjab Kings over the last 4 seasons. The duo had 5 century partnerships, the most by an all-Indian pair in the history of the IPL. Having played for Karnataka from the U13 level of their career, Mayank and Rahul share a wonderful rapport and that was evident by the way they took down bowling attacks at PBKS.
Rahul and Mayank's friendship has only grown over the years despite the two of them competing for the same spot in the Test XI. In fact, Mayank made his Test debut at the MCG in the 2018-19 tour of Australia, replacing Rahul in the XI.
After a successful stint at the top for Punjab Kings for 4 years, Rahul and Mayank parted ways. It's no secret that PBKS wanted to retain Rahul as their captain, as head coach Anil Kumble had spoken about it after the PBKS retentions were announced. The Karnataka star had scored 2548 runs at a staggering average of 56.62 in just 4 seasons. However, the superstar opener decided to end his association with the Kings after failing to lead them to the play-offs in the 2 seasons as captain.
RAHUL SHINES AT LSG
Rahul, who was drafted in by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 16 crore, has managed to make a fine impression as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants so far. Having scored 368 runs, including 2 hundreds, in 8 matches, Rahul is in the running for the Orange Cap yet again.
More importantly, the change in the environment seems to have worked in favour of Rahul. With the likes of Gautam Gambhir (mentor) and Andy Flower (head coach) for support and guidance, Rahul has looked more assured as captain. Questions were asked about his ability to lead the senior national team after a string of ordinary outings in South Africa earlier this year, but Rahul has looked more assured in the IPL 2022 while leading from the front with the bat.
