{"id":5223,"date":"2026-04-25T13:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kl-rahul-explains-his-real-cricket-approach-after-unbeaten-152-vs-pbks"},"modified":"2026-04-25T13:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:24:10","slug":"kl-rahul-explains-his-real-cricket-approach-after-unbeaten-152-vs-pbks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kl-rahul-explains-his-real-cricket-approach-after-unbeaten-152-vs-pbks","title":{"rendered":"KL Rahul Explains His \u201cReal Cricket\u201d Approach After Unbeaten 152 vs PBKS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>KL Rahul wrapped up Delhi Capitals\u2019 innings with a blistering unbeaten 152, steering the team to a massive 264\/2, and after the match he reflected on the thinking behind his innings. The wicketkeeper-batter said his focus was on executing \u201creal cricket\u201d shots while keeping constant pressure on the opposition bowlers, and he also highlighted Nitish Rana\u2019s standout 91 as DC\u2019s momentum-building partner during a huge 220-run stand.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Rahul powered DC to 264\/2 after striking 152* off 67 balls in his innings.<\/li>\n<li>The knock featured 16 fours and nine sixes, with a strike rate of 226.<\/li>\n<li>His 152* is the top individual IPL score by an Indian batter and the third-highest overall in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum.<\/li>\n<li>Rahul also overtook Tilak Varma to set the mark for the highest individual score by an Indian player in men\u2019s T20 cricket.<\/li>\n<li>He became the first IPL player to score multiple centuries for three different franchises: Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants.<\/li>\n<li>The Rahul\u2013Rana 220-run partnership is the second-best stand in IPL history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Rahul explains the mindset behind 152 not out<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking after his innings, Rahul admitted he was feeling the effects of the heat and needed recovery, describing the moment as a mix of emotions. He said he was concerned about cramping later, though he suggested that only late in the innings did he start planning his approach more deliberately.<\/p>\n<p>In the early phase, Rahul explained that for the opening 70 to 80 runs he wasn\u2019t focusing on premeditated shots. Instead, he said he was simply looking to hit boundaries and sustain scoreboard pressure on the bowlers. He also emphasised that his \u201cstrength\u201d is playing proper cricket shots, and he believed trusting that game plan would be enough to push DC beyond the 250 mark.<\/p>\n<p>As the innings progressed, Rahul pointed to changes in field placements and bowling variations as the reason his planning became more specific towards the end. He noted that when bowlers went wider or when a spinner\u2019s field came into play, he had a clearer idea of what to expect. \u201cOnly at the back end was I premeditating,\u201d he said, adding that he maintained his intent throughout.<\/p>\n<h2>Praised Rana\u2019s 91 and the partnership\u2019s impact<\/h2>\n<p>Rahul was full of praise for Nitish Rana after Rana contributed a phenomenal 91. He said Rana\u2019s timing and boundary-hitting from the early overs increased the pressure on the bowling side, especially when the batter was targeting big sixes. Rahul argued that when a batsman can still score at a high strike rate while playing more orthodox, merit-based shots, it makes it harder for the fielding group to believe they can contain the chase.<\/p>\n<p>Rahul also credited the right-hand, left-hand combination between himself and Rana for helping them keep the scoreboard moving. He acknowledged that the pitch was on the slower side, but said both batters were reading the ball well. The end result, in his view, was simple: they continued batting with purpose, kept finding boundaries, and sustained pressure on the bowlers long enough to build a record partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KL Rahul wrapped up Delhi Capitals\u2019 innings with a blistering unbeaten 152, steering the team to a massive 264\/2, and after the match he reflected&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: KL Rahul\u2019s Real Cricket Approach vs PBKS","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"KL Rahul\u2019s unbeaten 152 vs PBKS: he explains his \u201creal cricket\u201d mindset, how he kept pressure on bowlers, and the key role of Nitish Rana.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IPL 2026: KL Rahul\u2019s Real Cricket Approach vs PBKS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"KL Rahul\u2019s unbeaten 152 vs PBKS: he explains his \u201creal cricket\u201d mindset, how he kept pressure on bowlers, and the key role of Nitish Rana.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/kl-rahul-explains-his-real-cricket-approach-after-unbeaten-152-vs-pbks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IPL 2026: KL Rahul\u2019s 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