Former India batter turned commentator Suresh Raina has opined on the key match-up between Delhi Capitals (DC) opener KL Rahul and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Noor Ahmad as well. The two teams are set to take on on Tuesday, May 5 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Rahul is in the midst of a great season, having scored 433 runs in nine matches at an average of 54.12 and a strike rate of 185.83, including three fifties and a hundred as well.

Speaking on the Star Sports segment ‘Game Plan,’ Raina said, “Now he has settled in. He knows when to shift into fifth gear while batting, when to rotate strike, and how to handle situations when wickets fall. He has been playing at this level for so many years. He has scored 500 runs five times, which shows how positive his mindset is. From my side, I feel it could be Noor Ahmad because he does not play the sweep shot that much. He prefers to play more straight-bat shots. If there is some turn on offer, we might see a good contest there.”

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Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif also added that KL Rahul was earlier criticised for his low strike rate, but recently, he has improved quite well.

He said: “We are seeing a new version of him (KL Rahul). Earlier, many people used to criticise KL Rahul for playing a bit slowly and having a low strike rate. But over the last two years, he has improved his strike rate. Now you can see he is hitting more boundaries in the powerplay, playing more freely, and even after the first six overs he continues with the same intent, carrying it through till the end.”

“So I believe this is a new avatar we are seeing. He has made slight changes in his technique. Against spin, he is using his feet well. In the match at this very ground vs PBKS, he smashed Chahal down the ground. So that was a different KL Rahul on display. He has worked on his game,” he concluded.