We were 15-20 runs short on the night: LSG skipper KL Rahul

When a record 73-run eighth wicket stand between Ayush Badoni and Arshad Khan took Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 167, it felt like the home side had enough on the board to secure yet another victory. After all, prior to today (April 12), LSG had never lost in the Indian Premier League (IPL) defending a 160+ target.

However, the three-year streak came to an end as Delhi Capitals, much to the surprise of many, completed a clinical chase to score their second win of the season. DC did not just chase the target down; they got home in a canter. Rishabh Pant’s side crossed the line with nearly two overs to spare.

Speaking post the defeat, LSG skipper KL Rahul claimed that, on the night, his side were at least 15-20 runs short.

“If I want to be harsh, I think we were 15-20 runs short, we got off to a good start, we could have capitalised and got 180,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.

In the second innings, LSG were blown away by debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was the architect of DC’s chase. McGurk, who last year smashed the fastest hundred in professional cricket history, began his IPL career with a six and smoked 55 off just 35 balls to set up the victory for the visitors. Rahul credited the Aussie youngster, and said that the surprise element he brought with him kind of took LSG aback.

“The new guys when they come in, it's pretty unknown for us,” Rahul said.

“Jake Fraser-McGurk hit the ball well, credit to him. We always walk in with the same mindset, wanting to hit the right areas. We got Warner in the powerplay, got a couple of wickets after the powerplay. The set batters Pant and McGurk took the game away from us after that dropped catch.”

A pivotal moment in the game came in the eighth over of the first innings, when Nicholas Pooran was sent into bat at No.5 to take on the spinners. However, Pooran fell for a golden duck, and his dismissal set the hosts back big time. Rahul later explained that Pooran was asked to take down the spinners because there wasn’t a lot of turn on offer in the initial part of LSG’s innings.

“In hindsight, we can wonder if we could've done something differently when it comes to Pooran. There was not a lot of spin for Axar early on, so we thought Pooran could put the opposition under pressure,” Rahul explained.

DC skipper Pant, meanwhile, said that the team’s second win of the season came as a ‘major relief’ for him. Pant said that he urged the group to ‘think like champions’.

“Little relief, we wanted a win badly. I was talking to the boys saying we need to think like champions, we need to keep fighting hard,” Pant said.

The DC skipper admitted that the team are getting closer to finally finding their best XI, and hoped for Fraser-McGurk to continue creating an impact at No.3.

“I think we are getting closer to the right XI, but we've had so many injuries in this group. However, you can't keep complaining about that. 

“Hopefully, we've found our new number 3 [in McGurk], haven't thought too much about it. Hope he can continue.”

With the victory, the Capitals have pushed Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the bottom of the table.

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