KL Rahul got off to a bad start with the racquet for the Lucknow Super Giants when he was dismissed for a first-ball duck in the team’s season opener of IPL 2022 against the Gujarat Titans. One of the most prolific batsmen in the Indian Premier League, Rahul played the last four seasons of the IPL for the Punjab Kings before deciding to part ways.
Mohammed Shami struck with the first ball of the game as he tricked KL Rahul into making a full delivery down the fourth stub line. The on-field ref didn’t rule out a loud appeal from the Gujarat Titans, but Hardik Pandya opted for the DRS and the TV replays showed a clear deviation.
How good was that over @MdShami11. Receives the big wicket from KL Rahul.
Live – https://t.co/4Kt4dkerZU #GTvLSG #TAAIPL pic.twitter.com/IDcZ4VIpgG
— Indian Premier League (@IPL) March 28, 2022
Ahead of the 2022 IPL auction, KL Rahul was signed by new team Lucknow Super Giants and subsequently made captain. There was a lot of hype surrounding the LSG opening combination of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock, but Mohammed Shami’s early breakthrough gave the Gujarat Titans a huge boost.
GT vs LSG, IPL 2022 live updates
Shami also got rid of Quinton de Kock in the third over of the inning while Varun sent Aaron Even Lewis out in the 4th over thanks to a spectacular catch from Shubman Gill.
KL Rahul’s duck was his first in 56 innings in the IPL. He has 3273 runs in 95 IPL matches so far. After making his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015, he was released from the franchise despite an impressive 2016 when he hit 397 runs.
KL Rahul showed his class in the following years for Punjab, scoring 659 runs in 2018, 593 runs in 2019, 670 runs in 2020 and 626 runs in 2021. Rahul has hit 2 hundreds in IPL so far.
This Indian Premier League season is of interest for more than one reason. KL Rahul, along with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, are strong contenders to captain India once Rohit Sharma retires.
Of course, KL Rahul has enough class to recover. The 29-year-old Bangalore batsman had won the Orange Cap in 2020 and was the third-highest goalscorer in 2021 behind Ruturaj Gaekwad and Faf du Plessis.
In January, KL Rahul was named India captain in their second friendly against South Africa when Virat Kohli missed the game through injury. Rahul was out of action after the ODI series against West Indies with a hamstring injury. He was from the T20I series against West Indies and missed the T20Is and Tests against Sri Lanka.
