KL Rahul was an elated captain after Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) resounding 56-run victory over Punjab Kings (PBSK) in Mohali on Friday (April 28).

“It is so against the T20 trend. Can’t put a finger on it. Happy that we got the win," Rahul said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Every game from now on would be very important. We had a break after the last game. We came back fresher after that," he added.

Invited to bat first, the visitors piled up a mammoth 257/5 on the board – the second-highest total in the history of IPL. Marcus Stoinis starred with the bat for LSG, slamming 72 off 40 balls while Kyle Mayers (54 off 24), Nicholas Pooran (45* off 19) and Ayush Badoni (43 off 24) chipped in with vital contributions.

In reply, Punjab’s innings folded for 201 in 19.5 overs. Atharva Taide top scored with 36-ball 66 but he didn’t get desired support from the other end.

“We were clear as to how to bat. When you see such wickets, you get excited as batters. Getting 250 speaks highly of how we batted. You are familiar with what you can expect. Just being familiar to wickets helps," Rahul said.

“We always talk about setting the tone at the start. We had guys like Mayers, Stoinis. Badoni has been batting well. Hooda as well," he further remarked.

For LSG, Yash Thakur (4-37), Naveen-ul-Haq (3-30) and Ravi Bishnoi (2-41) and Stoinis (1-21) were among the wickets.

“The think tank does most of the thinking and I try to understand what they are thinking. And if it suits us, we go through with the plan," Rahul said.

Lucknow Super Giants will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday (May 1).