Knew that the pitch was going to aid spinners: Rahul

It was a different day in the office for the two teams, who had to be content with extremely challenging batting conditions, on a surface that aided the spinners. Lucknow banked on their spin attack to do maximum damage, and the result was evident, with their spinners reducing a flamboyant Sunrisers Hyderabad setup to a paltry total of 121/8. 

However, in the second innings, it needed some smart cricket from the hosts to get over the line, led by their all-rounder, Krunal Pandya, who scored a 23-ball 34, and picked up 3/18 with the ball. 

“Yesterday (when did he know how the pitch would play?). We've been here for a couple of weeks now. Knew what we were getting into (nature of the pitch). Even when Jaydev bowled a few cutters, it was gripping. Was a no-brainer to bowl spin early,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation. 

Rahul’s reaction was almost like he was surprised his opposition, Aiden Markram and their team’s tactics of filling the team with pace. On top of that, the right-hander also reckoned that the team ‘adapted well’ as a batting unit. 

“First instinct when I saw both pitches was that we'll need to bat smartly here. We've adapted well as a batting unit. Each person plays very differently. Just have been a couple of chats with the batting group to help each other out. Good to see the players are going there and putting in the practice,” he had to add. 

Markram, who won the toss and opted to bat first opined that his side – Sunrisers – were clearly 30-40 runs short on the night. He further put it down to how they tried to get to 150-160 but that sort of took their momentum away. Having said that, the Sunrisers bowlers did give a fight on the night, with some bowling display. 

“Not enough runs, tried to get to 150-160 but lost too many wickets and didn’t get any momentum going. We realized it wasn’t going to be a great wicket to bat in terms of history, but we were happy to fight,” Markram said in the post-match presentation.

“They bowled brilliantly according to the conditions. Good effort from our bowlers, we didn’t give them enough runs to play with but they fought hard. (On the next home game) Different conditions once again, the team has played there already. The Punjab Kings are flying high but Sunday is a chance to pinch them.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad head back home, to take on Punjab Kings with a chance to bag their first two points of the season. Lucknow though, have taken a liking at the top half of the table, with two wins in three clashes.