Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) might have registered a thrilling 1-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday (April 10), but their skipper KL Rahul came under the scanner for his turtle-paced knock.
Chasing 213 to win, Rahul returned with 18 off 20 balls while opening the batting. He got out in the 12th over, leaving his team in a precarious situation at 105/5.
Thanks to brutal knocks from Nicholas Pooran (62 off 19), Marcus Stoinis (65 off 30) and Ayush Badoni’s handy 24-ball 30, LSG sealed the nail-biter on the last delivery of the match.
After the game, Rahul defended his timid approach by arguing that he was forced to bat cautiously due to wickets falling around him.
"I want to score more runs and I think I score more runs, the strike rate goes up. We have played a couple of games in tough wickets in Lucknow. Today we lost 3 wickets so I look at the situation and I felt like I did the right thing and if I could have carried on and stayed there till the end and stayed with Nicky, could've won the game a lot easier. Once I get some good knocks under my belt I'll start feeling good and that will go up," Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
Rahul lauded his team for snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat while stating that these kinds of finishes are only possible at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
"Unbelievable. This is the Chinnaswamy, only venue where so many last finishes are possible. From the possible we were in to end up winning in superb," Rahul said.
"When you are chasing 210 + you need to go hard. Sometimes you lose wickets but the ball was swinging a bit early for them and got wickets. That puts some pressure on you but the way Stoin and Pooran played was brilliant. The reason we have got 2 points here is because of the way they batted," he further added.
Calling the lower middle order as the most important batting slots in T20 cricket, Rahul said that LSG intentionally invested in Stoinis, Pooran and Badoni for their big hitting.
"In T20s number 5, 6 and 7 are the most important batting positions. That's where the most games are won, at least the crunch games. Yes, the top order will do the bulk of the scoring in top tournaments like these but it's those boys who really win you games and win you big games and that's why we invested in power in Stoin and Pooran and Ayush is coming of his own," Rahul remarked.
The captain heaped praise on the 23-year-old Badoni, who is once again making a mark in the Indian Premier League.
"He is a youngster and is learning the art of finishing games. He has done that a couple of times already this season. He's done that a couple of times last season as well. He's growing into that role and really excited about him becoming better in that position and that'd mean our team gets that power," Rahul concluded.
(India Today Inputs)
