Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 5 : Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer expressed mixed emotions following his side's six-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on Monday night.
Despite the loss, Langer was optimistic about the team's batting performance, particularly highlighting the impact of Nicholas Pooran.
"I thought the whole restructure of our batting order was positive. We've identified last summer that all our metrics were where we were on top of everything with our batting, this year we're right down at the bottom, so we had to do something, right? So we restructured it, seeing Nicholas Pooran batting like that and bringing smiles to everyone's faces," Langer said during the post-match press conference.
He praised Pooran's determination, noting that his batting was a highlight for LSG in the match.
"You could see how determined he was. I actually turn up to every training session just to watch Pooran bat. And even though he's working so hard, he hasn't had the season he's wanted so far, but today just goes to show why he's been one of the, he is one of the great T20 players in the world. So it was great entertainment and, yeah, that's a real positive for us," he added.
Addressing the team's overall strategy, Langer acknowledged the challenges in getting the batting order right.
"First, he didn't do anything wrong, that's for sure. When you try and, with all these things, you try and work out the jigsaw puzzle which works best for the team, right? So, we've been very aware, we've got guys who can fill that position, we've got guys we've chopped and changed the opening positions a few times. So, if you're winning, everyone says the jigsaw puzzle's right. If you're not, it's not. But one part of the jigsaw puzzle today, which was a positive, was Pooran," he explained.
Looking back on the match, the coach noted the team's intent to improve their aggression at the crease.
"We went in with a real mindset to up our, up our intent, and we did that really well today. And then we just lost a couple of wickets in the middle, which just dragged us. I thought Bumrah and Chahar's last two overs were outstanding. You've got to sometimes give credit to the opposition. Chahar's last over was absolutely magnificent," he said.
Langer also praised the resilience of MI's bowlers, particularly Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar.
"So, Bumrah as well, I mean, that's what champions do, they fight back. So, we, they were good at the end. We could have lost with eight balls to go or something. So, there's a lot more positives in our batting today, that's for sure," he concluded.
MI opted to bowl first, and knocks from Nicholas Pooran (63 in 21 balls, with four and eight sixes), Mitchell Marsh (44 in 25 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Himmat Singh (40* in 31 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took LSG to 228/5.
However, a stand of 143 runs between Rickelton (83 in 32 balls, with six fours and eight sixes) and Rohit (84 in 44 balls, with six fours and seven sixes) helped MI make a light work of the chase and completed the chase in 18.4 overs.
MI are at the ninth spot with three wins and seven losses, while LSG are at the bottom with two wins and seven losses.
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