Lucknow Super Giants (LGS) skipper KL Rahul on Sunday (10th April) talked about the loss his side suffered against Rajasthan Royals (RR). He said that one bad game won’t change things for them and it’ll be good learning for them.
LSG suffered a disappointing 3-run defeat against RR to register their second loss of the season. Bowling first, after winning the toss, the KL Rahul-led side started off decently with the ball as they removed in-form Jos Buttler (13) inside the powerplay.
They then put pressure on the opposition and reduced them from 42/1 to 67/4. However, after that, they had no answers to the onslaught by Shimron Hetmyer, who scored unbeaten 59 runs in just 39 balls to power his side to a total of 165 runs.
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Chasing the target, LSG had a horrendous start as Trent Boult removed KL Rahul on the very first ball of the innings and then followed it with the wicket of Krishnappa Gowtham on the second ball. Prasidh Krishna complimented him well by removing Jason Holder for 8 runs and they found themselves tumbling at 14/3.
Quinton de Kock (39) and Deepak Hooda (25) tried to keep their side in the hunt but Yuzvendra Chahal’s four-wicket haul again put LSG on the backfoot. Marcus Stoinis (38*) played a brutal knock to revive the hopes of his side but in the end that target was too much as LSG fell short of 3 runs.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, KL Rahul talked about his dismissal on the first ball of the innings. He admitted that his side was 20 runs short and they needed one good partnership, ‘which never got going’.
"I didn't see it (the ball that got him from Boult), if I did I could have done something about it. Have to give it to him. Was a good ball. We have a good team, and have enough options with bat and ball. Even when we were 20-odd for three, we knew we had a chance. Obviously, today we needed one good partnership which we never got going," KL Rahul said.
Rahul lauded Stoinis for his efforts and said that it was a part of the plan to hold back the all-rounder. Calling his side ‘unpredictable’, he said that they have so many options and can shuffle the batting order.
"At the end, it was excellent from Stoinis to get it close and to do it in his first game of the season will give him confidence. It was always a plan (to hold Stoinis back), we know how dangerous he can be in the last five overs. As I said, we have a lot of all-rounders, so many options and so we could shuffle the batting order a bit. We like to be a bit unpredictable a bit," he said.
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Rahul said that his side would continue to be unpredictable in the coming games. He remarked that although they couldn’t execute their plans in the end, one bad game won’t change things.
"These kinds of totals can be a bit tricky at times, plan was to throw the bowlers off their lengths a bit but didn't happen. But we're a side that would continue to try being unpredictable in the coming games too.
“We couldn't execute our plans at the end, the yorkers and other plans. If you miss your plans, batters these days will put you in trouble. We'll try to work harder and handle the pressure better. One bad game won't change things, will be a good learning for us," he said.
Lucknow Super Giants will next face Mumbai Indians on Saturday (16th April) in Mumbai.
(ANI inputs)
