Following a disappointing loss by his team, the Lucknow Super Giants, to defending champions Gujarat Titans, Captain KL Rahul appeared heartbroken and unable to articulate his feelings.
Despite Rahul’s impressive score of 68, Lucknow was unable to achieve their target of 135, and the team experienced a dramatic meltdown in the final over, ultimately losing the match by seven runs. Mohit Sharma took two wickets while the other two were the result of run-outs, including that of Rahul, who was followed by Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, and Deepak Hooda.
Can’t put a finger on where it went wrong
“I don’t know how it happened, but it has happened. I can’t put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost 2 points today, this is cricket. I thought we were brilliant with the ball, 135 was 10 runs under par, the bowling was exceptional, and we started well with the bat, but these things happen, we’ll have to take it on the chin. But still, a long way to go, 8 points off 7 games, we were on the wrong side of the result today,” Rahul said in the post-match interview.
We were well ahead in the game: KL Rahul
Talking about his batting, he said, “We were well ahead in the game and I wasn’t really trying to bat deep, I still wanted to play my shots, take on the bowlers, but they bowled well in that 2-3 over period, by Noor and Jayant, we perhaps should have taken a few more chances with wickets in hand, they bowled decently, but I think we missed out on some boundary opportunities, the pressure got to us in the last 3-4 overs, we played well until then. They did bowl well though.”
The environment changed when we got wickets
A victory like this, according to Hardik Pandya, may increase the team’s confidence.
“After the two games we lost, this seems like god is telling us I am not always going to take from you, I will give to you too,” he said.
“The way the environment changed when we got wickets, the belief we had, was wonderful to watch. In a tournament like this, one loss can break you, but such a win can do the opposite.” Talking about the team strategy, he said, “At best, we could have scored 10 more runs. That’s how the wicket was.”
“During the strategic timeout, we spoke about the set batter batting longer because the new batter was going to find it difficult.”
At what stage he thought his side could win, Pandya said, “When there was 30 required off 30, I felt they were ahead. We started sniffing something when it came down to 27 off 4 overs.
“A run a ball off 10 overs is different, but when it comes down to 24 off 24, you know a mistake can cost you the game. That’s when the game changes.” Asked why he gave the ball to Mohit Sharma to defend 12 runs in the final over, he said, “The amount of cricket Mohit has played, I didn’t need to tell him anything. The calmness, planning and execution he showed, it was tremendous.
“At same time, Shami showed his experience. Mohit and Shami were tremendous. Special mention to Jayant as well, playing after such a long time. Obviously Noor has some talent.”
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