With their nine-run win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday night, Lucknow Super Giants ended their six-match losing streak in the IPL this season. Having lost six matches on the trot after their win against the Kolkata Knight Riders last month, the Rishabh Pant-led side could not find winning ways. Thursday’s win also meant that the team now has six points after ten games, and the tenth-placed team still has a chance to qualify for the play-offs with wins required in their last four games and other results going its way.
Skipper Pant shared how the team was looking for the win and how Thursday’s match was a close-to-perfect game for the team.
“Definitely, it was a good game for us for sure. For the whole team, the win means a lot for us. Because we have been trying a lot of things. Coming on the same page, it means a lot to us. Because we were looking for this. It has been a tough season but sometimes you have to go through the grind. We were trying to put up close to a perfect game, where batting and bowling come together. There has been some good luck and some bad luck, but I’m really happy to have a win here,” Pant said in the post-match presentation.
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Batting first, Lucknow Super Giants had posted a total of 209 for 3 in 19 overs, with rain interrupting during the innings. Mitchell Marsh played a 56-ball knock of 11 runs to set the total for the Lucknow side. With the revised target of 213 in 19 overs, Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost their openers, Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli, inside the power play. Captain Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Paddikal stitched together a third-wicket partnership for 95r runs before Padikkal was removed by Prince Yadav.
The Bengaluru side could only manage a total of 203 for 6 in 19 overs with leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi defending 19 runs in the last over and giving away only nine runs to see Lucknow side win by nine runs. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed took two wickets for 33 runs in his spell of three overs and when asked what led to him handing the last over to Rathi and not Ahmed, Pant shared how he saw Rathi being a better match-up against the likes of Romario Shepherd . “It was a tough call. We were under pressure. But at the same time, you have to trust your bowler. And Rathee was the right match up against Romario Shepherd . He trusted himself and got the job done for the team.
Pacer Prince Yadav took 3 for 33 runs in his spell while Mohammad Shami took 1 for 33 runs in his spell. Pant showered praise on the bowling unit of the team and called the bowling the strength of the team this IPL season. Our strength this season has been bowling. The way all the bowlers have put their heart out. The way all the bowlers have put their heart out especially Prince, Shami bhai, (Digvesh) Rathi, Sid (M Siddharth), Avesh (Khan), Mayank (Yadav). There have been some good things for sure as a bowling unit and I am looking forward to it.
Marsh hit his second IPL hundred as he played a knock of 111 runs off 56 balls. When asked about Marsh’s knock, Pant termed it as ‘unbleiveable’. “Unbelievable. We know as a team, we have been grinding hard. The players were looking good. Just a turnaround for us now. Amazing batting from Mitch,” concluded Pant.
