Can’t put a finger on where we let the game slip, says KL Rahul after loss to GT

LSG captain KL Rahul scored 68 off 61 deliveries chasing 136 against GT.

Ekana has produced another gem of a low-scoring encounter in the IPL 2023. Despite a half-century, Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul panicked after the 15th over and ended up playing 8 dot balls and scored just 10 runs in 16 balls. This made Lucknow crumble against dot ball pressure and helped Gujarat clinch a game back in their hand. Gujarat ultimately won the game by 7 runs in a stunning comeback. Ekana’s wicket was best as usual for the bowlers. Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bat first, Wriddhiman Saha (47) and Hardik Pandya (66) together helped Titans give 136 runs target to Lucknow. In reply, Lucknow had a great start to the chase yet they pressed the panic button after the 15th over.

Lucknow Captain’s knock put pressure on LSG lower order

Captain KL Rahul’s slowing down proved costly for Lucknow. They required 30 runs in the final 6 overs. Lucknow’s final over equation was 12 runs in the last over. Mohit Sharma nailed the game with his final over, conceding only 4 runs and Titans picked up 4 wickets. After the loss, KL Rahul said, “I don’t know how it has happened. It happened too fast. I can’t put a finger on where we let the game slip, which was in our pocket”. KL Rahul’s batting at the end was the game-changer for Gujarat Titans. Rahul about his batting said, “This is going to sting for a while, we were well ahead in the game, I wasn’t trying to bat really deep. I was still trying to take the bowlers that I fancy”. Rahul scored 68 runs in 61 balls.

Hardik’s reminder ‘We are a champion side’

Defending champions Gujarat Titans were too pleased with a close win against Lucknow Super Giants. Titans Captain Hardik Pandya said, “We are a champion side, we won last year. You have to be satisfied with your results. The spirit and the atmosphere changed after getting wickets, that’s a great feeling”. Mohit Sharma bowled a brilliant final over. Talking about Mohit, Hardik Pandya said, “The amount of cricket he has played, I don’t have to interfere. He made my life easy, he backed his plans and executed it”. Mohit Sharma conceded 17 runs in his 3 overs and picked up 2 wickets in the final over, including KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis.

Pace bowler Mohit Sharma won back-to-back player of the match award. Mohit Sharma believes that his experience came in handy for the Gujarat Titans. Mohit Sharma talking about his performance said, “It is all normal, Consistency and Experience is there. But it is all a process”. The Titans bowler put their heart out while defending a small total. Mohit said, “We never lost the belief, Hardik kept telling us from ball one that we are winning the match. Just keep doing your job. That belief was always there”.

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