KL Rahul was an elated captain as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday (April 17) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 18 runs at Brabourne Stadium.
Invited to bat first, LSG rode on skipper Rahul’s unbeaten 103 off 60 balls to pile up a massive 199/4 on the board and then restricted MI to 181/9.
With this victory, the Super Giants moved to the second spot on the IPL 2022 points table behind Gujarat Titans (GT). It was their fourth win of the season from six games.
“It’s a special day (100th IPL match) and a special hundred. I wasn’t among the runs but the pitch was good and I made the most of it. Got a few boundaries away early, haven’t got the amount of runs that I’d have wanted, haven’t got the team to the kind of start that I wanted, wanted to cash in on this good pitch," Rahul said after the match.
He also praised his bowlers for defending a 200-run target against MI on a batting-friendly track.
“Day games are a bit different, but dew does play a factor in the night games, it’s unpredictable as well. We have defended really well, the bowlers have really come to the game, that’s something we can take forward going ahead," he added.
It was Rahul’s second century in the IPL and both of them have come against Mumbai Indians.
“At times, we haven’t done well in the powerplays, it’s important to either start well or target opposition batters with the ball. I don’t look at oppositions differently. MI are a champion franchise, they’re always competitive, I love the challenge of playing against different oppositions, yes, I have done well against them, but I always try and do well against every other franchise, I don’t want to get too carried away and stay with the moment," he said.
As a new franchise, the LSG skipper also hailed the owners and management for picking a solid team in the auction.
“We have played good cricket, nothing to take away from the other teams, we need to keep our feet on the ground and stay humble, keep learning. We’re a new franchise, but we have a brilliant team, enjoy spending time with these guys - the team we have picked in the auction, we were clear we wanted good guys in the set-up - the owners have been supportive, the management has been good, it’s a caring franchise, people are being looked after well, that’s the kind of franchise we wanted to create. It’s still early days in the tournament," Rahul said.
(With CricketNext inputs)
