"You can retire" - LSG coach Andy Flower's message to KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock after 18th over

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Andy Flower revealed that they pondered retiring out openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock after the 18th over against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Opting to bat, Rahul and de Kock went all guns blazing against the KKR bowlers. The Proteas wicketkeeper-batter, in particular, was ruthless against both pacers and spinners.

The southpaw dispatched everything that was in his zone to reach his second IPL century. However, both Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul got tired towards the end of the innings, which is when the LSG think-tank thought of retiring both batters.

Speaking at the mid-innings break, Andy Flower said:

"At the end of the 18th over, we sent a message saying, 'If you guys are too tired hitting the ball hard, you can retire and we'll send some of our big-hitters in.' These boys, all of them, from 1 to 9 can hit the ball hard like that."

However, Rahul and de Kock decided to continue and guided Lucknow to 210 runs, which is the third-highest partnership for any wicket in the history of the tournament.

Quinton de Kock remained unbeaten on 140 runs in 70 balls, including 10 fours and sixes each. Rahul, who has been in superlative form this season, chipped in with 68 runs, decorated with three boundaries and four sixes.

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"That would have given him a lot of satisfaction" - Andy Flower on Quinton de Kock

De Kock scored at a strike rate of 200, which earned him applause from all quarters. Flower was also all praise for the South African cricketer, who set the stage on fire with his free-flowing shots.

Andy Flower said:

"One boundary is a big boundary, so Quinton hitting balls like that, who's not renowned for his big-hitting actually, that would have given him a lot of satisfaction."

At the time of writing, Kolkata were placed at 132/4 in 14 overs after Shreyas Iyer's breathtaking 29-ball 50. The onus lies on hard-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell to take the IPL team home and end the campaign on a high.