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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul has opened up on his uncharacteristically slow knock against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday (April 10) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The right-handed batter acknowledged that his tempo was not ideal, but felt he needed to be steady due to the loss of early wickets.
KL Rahul attracted a lot of flak over social media due to his 20-ball 18 as RCB set the Super Giants a daunting 213 to win off 20 overs. While Marcus Stoinis flourished after getting his eye in, the captain struggled to hit boundaries and managed only one in his knock. The right-hander fell in the 11th over, trying to flick it over deep square leg for a six.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the 30-year-old felt RCB's bowlers were spot on during the powerplay and that Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran deserve credit for getting them two points. Talking about his own innings, Rahul highlighted the need to improve his strike rate:
"Unbelievable. This is the Chinnaswamy, only venue where so many last-ball finishes are possible. From the position we were in, to end up winning it, is superb. We had to go hard and the ball swung early, and they got 2-3 wickets to put the pressure on us."
"The only reason we got two points today is for the way the lower order batted. Not ideal for me, I want to score more runs and get the strike rate up as well. We've played on two tough Lucknow wickets, and today we lost 3 wickets so I went slower."
Despite Rahul playing 20 deliveries without much impact, the Super Giants prevailed in the final over as Avesh Khan sneaked a bye on the last ball. Dinesh Karthik fumbled behind the stumps when he had the chance to affect a run-out and get the game to a super over.
"I wanted to stay till the end and play with Nicky" - KL Rahul
Rahul hailed Stoinis, Pooran, and Ayush Badoni and conceded that they justified their inclusion, adding:
"I wanted to stay till the end and play with Nicky. Batting 5 ,6, 7 is the toughest positions to play and that's where games are won and lost. We know about the power in Marcus and Nicky, and Ayush has come along as well. He's played 2-3 knocks last year, and he's continued to perform well for us."
Pooran, who scored a 19-ball 62, laced with seven towering sixes, earned the Player of the Match award.
