On Wednesday, April 19, LSG skipper KL Rahul hilariously responded to a question about getting hurt by a fielder’s throw with the statement that he must have done something wrong as captain. The team put up an impressive performance, putting 154/7 on the board. The Rajasthan Royals could not chase it down, finishing at 144/6, giving LSG a 10-run victory in Match 26 of IPL 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
At the post-match presentation, host Sanjay Manjrekar asked about Rahul getting hit on the hand. KL Rahul responded cheekily:
“I got hit by one of the throws from my own teammates. I am doing something wrong as a captain clearly.”
KL Rahul commented that the track was quite challenging, and he felt that 160 was a good score. He said:
“In the 10 over mark, the message me and Kyle [Mayers] sent out was 160 would be a good total on this track; they have some good bowlers as well who exploited the conditions. We fell 10 short but made up with the ball. And there was no dew, so made it fair for both teams.
“We came in here yesterday [Tuesday] and saw 180 would be a par score, but the first over from [Trent] Boult, me and Kyle had a chat and realised this isn’t a 180 wicket. The ball was keeping a bit low, so we gave ourselves time in the powerplay. Maybe if we played a bit better, we might have got 170 as well.”
Mayers and Rahul got 82 runs for the first wicket partnership in 10.4 overs – with Mayers top-scoring with 51 off 42 deliveries and the LSG skipper out for 39 off 32 balls. Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) then chipped in with important cameos to help LSG reach past the 150-run mark.
“We know with Rajasthan their strength is their top four”: KL Rahul
KL Rahul noted that Amit Mishra’s run-out of Sanju Samson, followed by the quick dismissals of Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer, marked the match’s turning point. He said:
“I think that run-out from the impact player (Mishra) and two wickets falling back-to-back gives the team a good chance and lets them come back into the game. We know with Rajasthan, their strength is their top four, so we needed to have our plans in place to get them out.”