Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) defeated Delhi Daredevils (DD) by six wickets in their opening game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 in Mohali on Sunday.
After losing the toss and put in to bat, DD rode on Gautam Gambhir’s 42-ball 55 and cameos from Rishabh Pant (28) and Chris Morris (27) to post 166 for 7 on the board.
In reply, KL Rahul slammed the fastest IPL fifty and was supported by Karun Nair (50) as the Ravichandran Ashwin-led side sealed the deal with seven balls to spare.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to KXIP’s win over DD:
KL Rahul really put it beyond the Daredevils with that blistering 14 ball 50. Good beginning for Ashwin the captain. #KXIPvDD
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 8, 2018
Rahul, naam toh suna hi hoga. Amazing hitting, and a 14 ball half century. Well begun boys #KXIPvDD pic.twitter.com/U9tBUuONGz
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 8, 2018
Good start to @ashwinravi99's captaincy career. Fine all round show by his team to quell Daredevils
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 8, 2018
KL Rahul with one of the best T20 innings that I have seen in a long time, the man could do no wrong, even when he's on the ground, he's smashing the ball out of the ground- deservedly holds the record for the fastest IPL half-century (14 balls)! Brilliant! #KXIPvDD
— Scott Taylor (@ScottTaylorUK) April 8, 2018
Fastest 50s in IPL:
14 KL RAHUL, today
15 Y Pathan v SRH, 2014
15 Narine v RCB, 2017
16 Raina v KXIP, 2014#KXIPvDD— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) April 8, 2018
Fastest 50 in @IPL the bar gets pushed yet again, this time by #KLRahul ,and he did it with proper shots #KXIPvDD #IPL2018 #BadriBytes
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) April 8, 2018
Has the pitch changed character or is has it been exceptional batting from the Kxip batsmen especially @klrahul11 have made this chase look simple so far #VivoIPL2018
— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) April 8, 2018
Mind boggling stuff that was from KL Rahul. Has set his team up, done his job 👏👏👏
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/982962877031038976
Well done KL Rahul on smashing the fastest @IPL half-century off just 14 balls, leapfrogging Sunil Narine and Yusuf Pathan's 15-ball record!#KXIPvDD #CricketMeriJaan #IPL2018
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 8, 2018
Gambhir’s run out came at very wrong time for DD @IPL @StarSportsIndia
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 8, 2018
Congrats🎉KXIP Won by 6 wkts
KL Rahul Makes Fastest🎊51(14) In History of IPL
Fabulous batting by🏏KL Rahul#VivoIpl11🏆2018 pic.twitter.com/5FmBc5ENmO— 🇲 🇩. 🇦 🇷 🇸 🇭 🇦 🇩. 🇦 🇱 🇮 (@MdArsha33281051) April 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/thisisraghavan/status/982985621852504071
KL Rahul is showing what kind of batsman he is when selfish Kohli isn't leading him.
— EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) April 8, 2018
One good and positive thing about todays match after whoever wins or looses @MdShami11 is in the playing squad where he belongs.Good luck to you 👍🏻#IPL18 #KXIPvDD
— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) April 8, 2018
That's it from Mohali as the @lionsdenkxip win their first home game by six wickets.#KXIPvDD pic.twitter.com/mpae7tzam4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2018
A consolidated effort by the team as Kings win the first game at Mohali this season. #KXIPvDD #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi pic.twitter.com/qmw6ey7RUo
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 8, 2018
