Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul is confident of improving his strike rate in the coming matches of the Indian Premier League.
Chasing 213 against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Monday, LSG was off to a horror start and their captain also struggled to free his arms, consuming 20 balls for his 18 runs.
However, man-of-the-match Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis had other ideas as they powered LSG to a memorable last-ball win, with their scintillating half-centuries.
“If I score more runs, the strike rate will go up. I looked at the situation and I feel I had done the right thing. Hopefully, with a couple of good knocks the strike rate will go up,” Rahul said at the presentation ceremony.
LSG was in deep trouble at 23 for three in the fourth over, before Stoinis and the franchise’s Rs 16 crore by Pooran unleashed their brutal onslaught.
“Unbelievable. I mean it’s the Chinnaswamy. I’ve grown up here and I think it’s the stadium with the most last-ball finishes. From the position, we were in. We were chasing 210+ and we knew we had to go hard and attack but sometimes when you do that you lose wickets.
“They bowled well in the powerplay, they swung it well. But the way Stoin and Pooran played, if we have two points today it’s because of them,” Rahul said.
`Ayush Badoni chipped in with 30 off 24 balls.
Rahul added, “If you look at the middle order, No. 5, 6, and 7, they win you the crunch games. The top order will get the bulk of runs but it’s those positions that matter and that’s why we invested in power in Pooran, Stoinis, and Badoni.
“And Badoni is learning to finish games.”
On his part, Pooran said, “This is for my wife and newborn. We needed to win that game. That partnership between Stoiny and KL was wonderful. Stoinis kept us in the game.
“We knew that in the back end of the game, it gets easier. The wicket was really nice to bat on. It was all about cashing in and getting the execution right.
“My second ball went for a six so it put me in a nice position. I’ve been working really hard on my game. This is where I want to be. I spent the last couple of years frustrating myself trying to win games for my team. I’m in a really good space.”
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis expressed his disappointment with the result at the team’s base.
“Disappointed. I mean obviously, they played really well through the middle there but I thought we fought back beautifully. But then that last ball, I fancied our chances with a run-out.
“I think just looking at that wicket, the batting from overs 7 to 14 was quite slow, the wicket, but then in the last five overs the ball was coming on nicely and that carried on in the second innings. I threw all our weapons we had at them,” du Plessis said.
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