Image Credit- BCCI
KL Rahul, the
captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, stated that no team has been able to break
through the powerplay code in the first week of the season thus far. He did not
want to overanalyze his side’s 20-run loss to the Rajasthan Royals in their
opening IPL 2024 match.
This season, the IPL implemented a two-bouncer-per-over regulation, and LSG was
bounced out in the first six overs of their 194 chase, reaching 47 for 3.
Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, had amassed 54 for 2 in their opening six
overs.
Both Devdutt
Padikkal and Rahul needed to undergo concussion protocols after being hit on
the helmet by Trent Boult.
“It is just the first game and I am not going to make too much out of it
or over-analyse,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.”[The]
Powerplay is crucial for every team, and I don’t think any team has cracked it
yet. Mohsin [Khan] was our powerplay bowler in the first season, but he wasn’t
fully fit last season. Good to see him back. Naveen [ul-Haq] has been crucial
for us since he has come in.”
Rahul felt that 194 was a chaseable target in Jaipur. “I don’t think the
target was a lot. It was just 10 over-par,” he said. “We bowled well
in patches. Just made a few mistakes.
“We will learn from the small mistakes we made. When we are three [down]
for nothing, and we gave ourselves a chance of chasing 194 speaks of our
line-up. But we need to find ways to win games of cricket. We’ll try to build
from here, and see where we can get stronger.”
Super Giants’
vice-captain Nicholas Pooran felt that the bowlers squandered the early
advantage after making inroads in the powerplay. Royals captain Sanju Samson
and Riyan Parag, who batted at No.4, forged a 93-run partnership off only 59
balls for the third wicket to propel their side to 193. In response, Super
Giants managed 173.
“I felt like with the ball we were a bit undisciplined,” Pooran said
at his post-match press conference. “We got off to a really nice start in
the powerplay, and the game was in the balance there. I felt that from overs
seven to 12 we bowled poorly, we gave away some easy boundaries there. I felt
they scored 15-20 runs too many on that wicket. But in saying that it’s only
the first game of the tournament and obviously we fell short but we got an
opportunity to understand what we have to do from a bowling perspective.”