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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul came up with a hilarious response to a query on getting hurt after being hit by a throw from one of the fielders. He quipped that he was clearly doing something wrong as captain.
LSG beat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 runs in match number 26 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday, April 19. Batting first after losing the toss, LSG put up 154/7 on the board and then restricted RR to 144/6.
At the post-match presentation, host Sanjay Manjrekar enquired about Rahul getting hit on the hand. The LSG captain cheekily replied:
“I got hit by one of the throws from my own teammates. I am doing something wrong as a captain clearly.”
On a serious note, he opined that the track was not all that easy to bat on, adding that 160 was a good score on it. Rahul stated:
“In the 10 over mark, the message me and Kyle [Mayers] sent out was 160 would be a good total on this track, they have some good bowlers as well who exploited the conditions. We fell 10 short but made up with the ball. And there was no dew so made it fair for both teams.
“We came in here yesterday [Tuesday] and saw 180 would be a par score, but the first over from [Trent] Boult, me and Kyle had a chat and realised this isn't a 180 wicket. The ball was keeping a bit low, so we gave ourselves time in the powerplay. Maybe if we played a bit better, we might have got 170 as well.”
Mayers and Rahul added 82 for the first wicket in 10.4 overs. While the LSG skipper was out for 39 off 32 balls, Mayers top-scored with 51 off 42 deliveries. Cameos from Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) lifted LSG past the 150-run mark.
“Run-out, and two wickets falling back-to-back” - Rahul on the turning point of the match
Asked what he felt was the turning point of the match, Rahul referred to the run-out of Sanju Samson by Amit Mishra and the wickets of Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer falling in quick succession. He said:
“I think that run-out from the impact player (Mishra), and two wickets falling back-to-back gives the team a good chance and lets them come back into the game. We know with Rajasthan their strength is their top four, so we needed to have our plans in place to get them out.”
Avesh Khan (3/25) and Marcus Stoinis (2/28) starred with the ball as LSG held RR to 144, defending a total of 154.
