“I feel I had done the right thing” - KL Rahul on his 20-ball 18

Imagine the situation. Royal Challengers Bangalore had posted 212 runs on board, and the fans were beaming at the top of their voice to ensure their presence at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is felt everywhere. All Lucknow Super Giants needed was a calm and clear head out there to spearhead the chase, and the only way to achieve that was to score runs at over 10 runs per over. 

However, KL Rahul brought his “strike rate is overrated” concept to the fore, taking 20 balls to score 18 runs, putting them in a situation where they needed an absolutely crazy innings from Nicholas Pooran to hand them a last-ball win. Logic dictates that Rahul could have batted with more intent, but in the post-match presentation, the LSG skipper defended his style once again, saying he had done the right thing.

“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. 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. If I had stayed in and played with Pooran, we would have won it easier. Hopefully, with a couple of good knocks, the strike rate will go up,” Rahul said in the post-match presentation.

After LSG were down to 23-3 in four overs, it was RCB’s game to lose. But then Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni took over, putting one sixes after another. The visitors collected 134 runs in the seven-over period between 7-14, eventually costing them the game.

“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,” the Lucknow skipper added.