KL Rahul Dominates Jofra Archer in IPL

KL Rahul has been named by Jofra Archer as the toughest batter he's faced in the IPL.

Archer recalled a version of Rahul from his early IPL years, who seemed capable of dispatching anything.

Archer said: "Probably my first few years at IPL, I found KL, like, really hard to bowl at."

He framed Rahul's peak as a period when bowling to him offered no margin for error.

The numbers lend weight to Archer's assessment, with Rahul scoring 108 runs off 73 balls against Archer at a strike rate of 147.9.

Rahul has been dismissed only twice while striking 13 fours and four sixes.

In Test cricket, Archer has bowled 136 deliveries to Rahul without once dismissing him.

Rahul has accumulated 50 runs in that span, a record that underlines the comfort the India opener has shown against the England spearhead.

Archer also picked New Zealand's BJ Watling as his toughest Test opponent for batting two and a half days against him.

The pick caught Nikhil Uttamchandani off guard, who noted that picking Watling over so many established greats was a genuinely niche choice.

And Archer explained that the unique demands of Test cricket made that particular passage of play uniquely draining.

So the England pacer has faced some of the most destructive batters of his generation.

But when asked to name the hardest he has faced, Archer bypassed the obvious choices.

The choice raised eyebrows in the studio, but Archer was firm.

He was speaking on the first episode of The Super Over podcast alongside Carlos Brathwaite and Nikhil Uttamchandani.