Two good teammates, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal will take on Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings on Friday, April 29 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul have had the most successful and intimidating opening partnership for Punjab Kings in the last 4 seasons. The duo made 5 century partnerships, the most by an all-India pair in the history of IPL. Having played for Karnataka from the U13 level of their careers, Mayank and Rahul share an amazing rapport and that is evident in the way they have executed the bowling attack in PBKS.
Rahul and Mayank’s friendship has grown over the years, while both are 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, in which Rahul was included in the XI.
After a successful stint at the helm for Punjab Kings for 4 years, Rahul and Mayank parted ways. It is no secret that PBKS wanted to retain Rahul as their captain, as head coach Anil Kumble spoke about it after PBKS’s retention was announced. The Karnataka star had scored 2548 runs in just 4 seasons at an average of 56.62. However, the superstar opener decided to end his association with the Kings after failing to lead in the play-offs in 2 seasons as captain.
Rahul shines in LSG
Rahul, who was drafted by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 16 crore, has so far managed to make a good impression as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants. After scoring 368 runs in 8 matches including 2 centuries, Rahul is once again in the race for the Orange Cap.
More importantly, the change in environment has worked in Rahul’s favour. With the likes of Gautam Gambhir (mentor) and Andy Flower (head coach) for support and guidance, Rahul looks more confident as captain. Questions were raised about his ability to lead the senior national team after several modest performances in South Africa earlier this year, but Rahul looked more confident going ahead with the bat in IPL 2022.
On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal has struggled with the bat. The man, who has scored over 400 runs at a sensational strike rate in the last two seasons, has scored just 136 runs in 7 matches. Without Rahul at the other end, Mayank lacks the flow and confidence that he displayed in 2020 and 2021.
Can Mayank set fire?
It seems like the burden of captaincy is playing its part in Mayank’s performance. Despite having a power-packed line-up, Punjab once again have middle-order issues, prompting Mayank to be more cautious during his opening stand with senior supporter Shikhar Dhawan.
Mayank needs to get back on the scoring track at the earliest as he cannot afford any more slip-ups if PBKS has to stay in the top 4. Lucknow are currently fourth with 10 points from 8 matches, 2 points more than Punjab. , Mayank couldn’t have asked for a better chance to score runs as Friday’s win will help them add to the mid-table disorder.
IPL 2022 has already started some mouth-watering battles between the stars and their former teams. Another, this time a much-awaited contest between two good friends, is only adding to the buzz around Friday evening’s blockbuster!