LSG were reduced to 11 for 2 after being put in to bat, but recovered with a good run rate from Rahul and Hooda for 115 runs off 62 balls for the third wicket. The duo smashed 45 in three overs which saw Hooda fall for a 31-ball 50. Rahul continued but could not finish. He perished in the 18th over and LSG collected just 25 runs in the last three overs to end on 196 for 5.
“Once we were set, that’s the time (in which) if Hooda could push on, he’d have 20 more runs and if I could have pushed on and got 20 more runs, we probably could have ended up at 220. As the games went on, you could see that it is important for the batsmen to ensure that we give the bowlers an extra cushion.
“(RR) bowled well in the last few overs, we were in a good position at 150 for 3 at the end of the 15th over. So I think we should have earned a bit more and got about 20-25 runs. more.”
“Mishra is an experienced player and we were thinking about using him from the first match,” Rahul said. “Today was the day we felt he could be useful against their batting in the middle (of the order), with how slow he is mixing and with a bit more boundary. That was the idea to use him and we were hoping to use Bishnoi in the other.” half.
“But once the runs kept flowing – even though they were losing wickets, they just made sure to put pressure on our bowlers… There was a period of two or three overs when Krunal bowled really well and we squeezed them really hard.
“But once the faster bowlers came in, (the batsmen) used the pace really well and I couldn’t find the right time to bring Bishnoi on and I think when I got him it was a bit late. Of course, the plan was to keep him back and make sure that when Rovman (Powell) and (Shimron) Hetmyer come to bat, he’s going to bowl well against them.”