In another match that went down to the last over, Punjab Kings (PBKS) held their nerve to register a well-deserved two-wicket win against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 15 (Saturday). After the game, LSG captain KL Rahul reflected on the team's loss and opined that it was the lack of execution from the bowlers turned out to be detrimental for his side.
"I think we were about 10 runs short towards the end. The dew came in and it seemed to help the batters a little bit more. We did not execute well with the ball. When you are playing on a new ground and a new pitch, you cannot rely on the previous games. If a couple of batters get in, play good knocks, we can get to 180-190," said Rahul after the game.
Batting first, LSG put a total of 159/8 on the board in 20 overs. Rahul scored 74 runs off 56 balls and was the only LSG batter who converted his start into a substantial score. From 110/3 in 14.2 overs, LSG's middle-order batters failed to capitalise on the start given by the top order.
Rahul also cited the lack of luck for his batters on Saturday as a few of them were caught right on the boundary.
"Unfortunately, today, few of the batters hit good shots but got caught just on the boundary line. On another day, we would have got those 10-15 runs extra that would have made the difference," Rahul added.
"The game was on the line and I try to give everything when I am on the field. Each player has a different role to play and that is why it is called a team game," said Rahul.
For PBKS, muscular batter Shahrukh Khan displayed nerves of steel and iced the game with a cracking cameo of 23 runs off 10 balls. With three wins in five matches and six points in the kitty, PBKS rose to fourth place in the points table.
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