“I always want to say bowl first but…”: LSG skipper Rahul on decisions after toss

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul opened up on making decisions during the toss, saying he always looks forward to bowling first but their record speaks differently.

On Tuesday, LSG clinched a 28-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rahul joked about how losing tosses stopped him from making bad decisions. The LSG has a great record defending totals, especially those over 160 or more, at their home.

He added that the Lucknow-based franchise is trying to fix its powerplay bowling and is trying to pick up one or two wickets during the first six overs.

“Every time I come to the ground and we have our meetings and the coach or analysts asks me what I want to do if we win the toss, I always want to say bowl first, but if I have a look at our record, it speaks differently. The good thing I’m doing is losing tosses as that really helps as I end up batting first so even if we lose no one can blame me for making the wrong decision [chuckles]. Unless we are getting bowled out or the opposition has blasted us out of the game, we can go back and look at our strategies. But it’s okay to lose a few, doesn’t mean we are a bad team. We bounced back really well from the first game.

Powerplay bowling has been a big question for us so we are trying to fix that. If we can get a wicket or two. We went with spin today which is a very obvious matchup against RCB. We’ll keep seeing how we can get better as a team,” Rahul was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

KL Rahul scored 20 runs from 14 balls at a strike rate of 142.86 in the first inning of the match. He smashed 2 sixes during his time on the crease.

Summarizing the game, RCB elected to field first after winning the toss. Openers Quinton de Kock and skipper KL Rahul (20 in 14 balls, with two sixes) gave LSG a measured start with a 53-run opening stand.

There was a 56-run stand between Kock and Marcus Stoinis (24 in 15 balls, with a four and two sixes) which helped LSG cross the 100-run mark. RCB bowlers did put pressure on the batting towards the end, but Nicholas Pooran (40* in 21 balls, with four and five sixes) finished off well for LSG, taking them to 181/5 in their 20 overs.

Glenn Maxwell (2/23) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB. Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal and Reece Topley took a wicket each for RCB.

In the run chase, openers Virat Kohli (22 in 16 balls, with two fours and a six) started off well along with Faf Du Plessis (19 in 13 balls, with three fours) started off with a 40-run opening stand. But a game-changing spell from Mayank Yadav (3/14) put RCB on the backfoot, reducing them to 94/5. Mahipal Lomror (33 in 13 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Rajat Patidar (29 in 21 balls, with two fours and two sixes) tried to put up a fight, but RCB could score just 153 in 19.4 overs.

Besides Mayank, Naveen-ul-Haq (2/25) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG. Siddarth, Yash Thakur and Stoinis got a wicket each.

Mayank got the ‘Player of the Match’ for his spell. RCB is in the ninth spot with a win and two losses, giving them three points. LSG is in fourth place with two wins and a loss, giving them four points.