Shane Watson lauds KL Rahul for his knock against Luckow

Former Aussie great says he batted with complete control in the IPL league match in Lucknow

HYDERABAD: Former Aussie great Shane Watson lauded Delhi Capitals’ KL Rahul for his composed knock against Luckow Supergiants, saying he batted with complete control in the IPL league match in Lucknow on Tuesday night.

“KL Rahul just did what he does best—batted with complete control. He didn’t need to take risks, just played a steady hand and picked his moments. What stands out is his ability to switch gears—he’s taken the game on throughout the tournament, but today he was calm, composed, and calculated. That kind of flexibility gives Delhi Capitals so much depth,” Watson explained in the Kuhl Fans Match Centre Live on JioHotstar.

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“The pitch did get better to bat on, but it was Axar Patel’s intent from ball one that stood out. LSG didn’t bowl particularly well to him early on, but he capitalised,” Watson said.

“It was the kind of innings LSG needed from Rishabh Pant. Axar stood up for his team—bowled his four overs straight, led from the front, and made an impact. You can see he really wants to play his part as skipper—something we haven’t quite seen from Rishabh,” he said.

Watson also praised Delhi Capitals’ Mukesh Kumar for his impactful spell through the middle overs.

“Mukesh bowled really well. He made the most of the ball reversing early—the yorker that got Mitchell Marsh swung a fair bit. Marsh was batting beautifully, so that was a big wicket,” he said.

“Mukesh ran in with full commitment and did a great job targeting key wickets in the middle overs,” he added.

For his part, the other JioStar expert Ambati Rayudu said it was a very good innings from Porel. “He wasn’t always in complete control—there were a few streaky shots—but everything came off for him tonight,” he said.

“Ideally, he should’ve carried his bat and finished the game, like KL Rahul did. He can learn from that,” Rayudu said.

“His striking was impressive, but he can work on his batsmanship—maybe pick more boundaries along the ground like Sai Sudharsan. Still, a decent knock overall,” he said.