Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 11 : After his side scraped to a nervy, 1-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul expressed disappointment with his innings, saying that it was not ideal for him and he wants to score more runs at a higher strike rate.
Powerful half-centuries by Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni's quickfire 30 guided Lucknow Super Giants to a one-wicket win in last ball thriller against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.
However, KL struggled during his stay at the crease, scoring only 18 runs off 20 balls with a four, at a strike rate of 90. In four IPL 2023 matches so far, his performances have been sub-par as he has scored only 81 runs at an average of 20.25 and a strike rate of 100.00, with a best score of 35.
"Unbelievable. This is the Chinnaswamy, the 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," said KL about the way his side turned the match.
"Not ideal for me, I want to score more runs and get the strike rate up as well. We have played on two tough Lucknow wickets, and today we lost 3 wickets so I went slower. I wanted to stay till the end and play with Nicky. Batting 5 ,6, and 7 are the toughest positions to play and that is where games are won and lost. We know about the power in Marcus and Nicky, and Ayush has come along as well. He has played 2-3 knocks last year, and he has continued to perform well for us," added Rahul about his own performance and that of the middle-order.
Put in to bat first by LSG, RCB posted a massive 212/2 in their 20 overs. Virat Kohli (61 off 45 balls, 4 boundaries and four sixes) was involved in a rollicking opening stand of 96 off 69 balls with skipper Faf Du Plessis.
From then on, the skipper hit top gear and raised a swashbuckling115-run stand with Glenn Maxwell off just 50 balls. Faf scored an unbeaten 79 off 46 balls, consisting of five fours and five sixes. Maxwell, too, provided a lot of fireworks, smashing 59 off just 29 balls, studded with three fours and six sixes. Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 1 at the close of the innings.
Mark Wood (1/32) and Amit Mishra (1/18) were among the wickets for LSG.
Chasing 213, LSG were reduced to 23/3 in four overs.
However, that was before KL Rahul (18) and Marcus Stoinis came together for a game-changing 76-run stand for the fourth wicket. Stoinis scored a quick 65 off 30 balls, consisting of six fours and five sixes.
Nicholas Pooran upped the attack following KL and Stoinis's dismissal, scoring 62 off just 19 balls with four boundaries and seven sixes. He formed a quick 84-run stand with Ayush Badoni, who scored an enterprising 30 off 24 balls.
The equation came down to five runs in the final over bowled by Harshal Patel, who conceded a single off the first ball and picked up a wicket off the second. A double and single were taken off balls three and four. Unadkat was dismissed on the penultimate ball, bringing down the equation to 1 run off 1 ball. Harshal attempted to run out Ravi Bishnoi at the non-strikers' end but failed. The LSG pair ran a bye off the last ball to clinch a thrilling one-wicket win.
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for RCB, taking 3/22 in four overs. Wayne Parnell also took 3/41 on his IPL return. Harshal got two scalps but gave away 48 runs in four overs. Karn Sharma took 1/48 in three overs.
With this win, LSG topped the points table with three wins and a loss in four games. They have a total of six points. RCB is in seventh position with a win and two losses in three games and a total of two points.
Pooran won the 'Player of the Match' for his game-changing knock.
Brief score: Royal Challengers Bangalore 212/2 (, Faf du Plessis 79*, Virat Kohli 61; Amit Mishra 1-18) vs Lucknow Super Giants 213/9 (Marcus Stoinis 65, Nicholas Pooran 62; Mohammed Siraj 3-22).
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