DC vs LSG: "Really Not Thinking About Playoffs" - LSG Captain KL Rahul After 7th Win In 10 Matches

The 45^th match of the IPL 2022 saw Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) clashing at the Wankhede Stadium on May 1 in a day match of a doubleheader. However, KL Rahul of LSG came out the victor against Rishabh Pant’s DC in a close game.

With this 6-run win over Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants now moved upto the second spot in the IPL 2022 points table, while DC remained at no.6 with 5 losses from 9 games and 4 wins.

The match started with Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Lucknow made one change as Avesh Khan was replaced by K Gowtham, while Delhi Capitals came into the match unchanged.

LSG captain KL Rahul won the toss and chose to bat first. His 77 was the highest score by a Lucknow Super Giants batter in the match, while Deepak Hooda made 52 in 34 balls. Rahul hit 4 fours and 5 sixes in his knock as well. Apart from them, Quinton de Kock made 23 and Marcus Stoinis added 17* as LSG managed a good-looking 195/3 in 20 overs.

Shardul Thakur picked all the 3 wickets to fall for DC.

I Was Just Cramping And Nothing Else, Body Is Good So Far- KL Rahul

Delhi Capitals started their chase on a poor note as Lucknow Super Giants bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Mohsin Khan dismissed Prithvi Shaw for 5 and Warner for 3 runs respectively. In fact, Mohsin Khan went on the trouble majority of DC batters.

DC saw some reprieve as Mitchell Marsh (37) and Rishabh Pant, the skipper added 60 runs for the 3^rd wicket in a counter-attack, But then Krishnappa Gowtham got rid of Marsh and Mohsin castled Rishabh Pant. Mohsin finished with figures of 4/16, while Rovman Powell with 35 and Axar Patel with 42* in 24 balls with 3 sixes and 1 four took DC mightily close to the LSG total, but fell short, ending on 189/7 in 20 overs.

KL Rahul looked very pleased with the result as LSG moved to the second spot in the IPL 2022 points table. At the post-match presentation, he talked about the win.

He said: “Really not thinking about that (playoffs), we’ve played some good cricket. Happy with the way we are doing the right things, just gives us confidence and we need to come out every game and give it our 100%, that’s what we are trying to do. He (Mohsin Khan) has been brilliant, played him in the nets first time a month ago … didn’t want to face him, seriously. He was sharp, he’s scary at times in the nets. It’s not just the pace, he has a good brain, has a bit of skill as well, has a great slower one and he knows when to use them. Eager to learn, eager to play, obviously he’s been around with the teams for the last 2-3 years, he hasn’t got a chance, he was very eager to play and he’s been a confident guy. Even under pressure, he’s bowled some really big overs for us and he’s performed for us. Hopefully he can learn, get better, get confident and keep doing the job for us.”

“He (Hooda) has been batting well, he’s batted well throughout the season. He started off really well. Even when the team is under pressure, he’s really played smart cricket. It’s not just about going there and hitting fours and sixes, he’s been smart, he’s read the situation really well. Really a hard-working guy, I’ve seen him for the last 3-4 years in the previous franchise as well. Really happy that he’s getting those runs for the team when the team needs it. He’s putting his hand up, taking the responsibility and doing the job for the team. Things looking good. (On going hard in the powerplay) It was just too hot, didn’t want to be there too long (*chuckles*). We did want to use the powerplay. When you’re batting first, you generally want to take a couple of balls and see what the pitch is like and then play your big shots but Quinton was going from ball one. Got a few boundaries going. Once you get that momentum going, you do want to put the team under pressure. The start we got really set us up and we played well after that as well. It’s been hot, felt like a 100 degrees today, I was just cramping and nothing else, body is good so far. It’s the last afternoon game, so really happy,” he added.

Also Read: DC vs LSG: Watch – Gautam Gambhir Hurls Abuse In Joy After Lucknow Super Giants Seal The Game Against Delhi Capitals