IPL 2022: Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar shower praise on KL Rahul

The duo of Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul who scored a century on Sunday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

It was Rahul's second century in the IPL 2022 and both his hundreds in the ongoing season have come against Mumbai Indians (MI). Batting first on Sunday, Rahul remained unbeaten on 103 off 62 balls as LSG put up 168 runs in 20 overs. Two games ago, Rahul had finished with the same score – 103 not out against the same opponents.

Meanwhile, Rahul also became the first-ever player to score three centuries against a single T20 team, according to ESPN Cricinfo.

"He's got a solid all-round game, the technique is good he's got all the shots, great temperament, and good presence of mind. With the responsibility of leading a new franchise is getting the best out of him," Shastri said on Star Sports.

"You asked me at the start of the season, Orange Cap, I said KL Rahul because the openers have the best chance. So, it will be between him and (Jos) Buttler. If you are an opening batsman who's firing then your franchise is going to do well in the TATA IPL because those are not the players at the back who come and do the damage. If you get an opener who's firing then it's half the job done already," the former India head coach added further.

Rahul's knock played a crucial role in LSG's 36-run victory over MI on Sunday. After Rahul's 103, LSG's next top-scorer was Manish Pandey with run-a-ball 22.

Gavaskar, on the other hand, lauded Rahul for the way he paced his innings against MI at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.

"It is fabulous to see the way he's paced his innings (against Mumbai Indians). How he increased his tempo, how he went from one gear to second gear to third gear and towards the end (of the innings) he was into the fifth gear was fabulous," said Gavaskar.

Rahul failed to score a single century last season in the IPL and he already has two to his name in the underway campaign. With his latest hundred against MI, Rahul emulated Virat Kohli in a special IPL record. Kohli and Rahul are the only players to have scored two centuries against the same team in a single season. The former RCB skipper did so in 2016 when he recorded two tons against Gujarat Lions.

In the list of most centuries in the IPL, Rahul now stands joint-third with four hundreds to his name, with only Kohli (5) and Chris Gayle (6) above him.