In the ninth game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave KXIP a flying start in Sharjah.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bowl first, but KXIP opening pair took full advantage of the opportunity given.

Mayank reached to his maiden IPL century off just 45 balls. He smashed RR bowlers all around the park. The right-handed batsman became the second-fastest IPL centurion for India in terms of ball taken.

Fastest centuries by Indian players in IPL (balls taken):

  • 37 – Yusuf Pathan v MI Mumbai BS 2010
  • 45 – Mayank Agarwal v RR Sharjah 2020*
  • 46 – Murali Vijay v RR Chennai 2010
  • 47 – Virat Kohli v KXIP Bengaluru 2016
  • 48 – Virender Sehwag v Deccan Hyderabad 2011

Rahul, on the other hand, played the role of a supporter. Both the players hit a flurry of fours and sixes to take  Punjab over 100 inside nine overs.

Not only this, the Karnataka duo managed to post the highest score in the powerplay overs at the ongoing IPL. They scored 60/0 in the first six overs of the match.

Mayank and Rahul added 183 runs for the first wicket from just 100 deliveries before Tom Curran dismissed Agarwal for 106. The 29-year-old smashed 17 boundaries including seven towering sixes. He scored runs at a blistering strike-rate of 212.

Rahul scored 69 runs from 54 deliveries with seven fours and one six before spinner Shreyas Gopal outfoxed him.

Nicholas Pooran (25 off 8 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (13 off 9 balls) added an unbeaten 29 run-partnership for the third wicket in the last few overs to take their team’s total to 223/2.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

Sports News of India, Latest Cricket News

Write for us at Getaka | Become a contributor

Reach out to 30k people a day with your unique articles on current topics. We accept articles on politics, sports, lifestyle, economics, travel, technology, entertainment etc. If you have passion for writing, email us at [email protected] mentioning your topic of interest or click on “login”. Sign up and become an article contributor to this website. We will publish your article with your name and photo. For more details on terms and condition for pitching your content, click Become a Contributor

 

Original Source