That win mattered. Captain Rishabh Pant called it big for Lucknow Super Giants after breaking a six-game slide against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, last year’s title holders. Rain shortened the match to 19 overs each. Still, LSG pulled through by nine runs under DLS. A first home success in five attempts this campaign. Not everything clicked before now. Efforts piled up without results. This time, something shifted. Meeting halfway matters more than ever. Tough months behind us, yet every now and then walking through hard work is just part of the path
“Definitely we were trying to put together a perfect game where batting and bowling comes together,” Pant said.
Pant spoke on choosing Digvesh Rathi for the last over when protecting a target of twenty. Tough decision, he mentioned – pressure riding high at that moment. Still, Rathi fit best against Romario Shepherd, so they went with him. Then came praise, unprompted, for Mitchell Marsh after his hundred.
“Unbelievable (Marsh innings). We know that as a team we’ve been grinding hard. Our strength this season has been bowling, the way all the bowlers have put their heart out. There has been some good things as a bowling unit, and looking forward to that.” RCB captain Rajat Patidar said they were well on course of the target but fell two-three hits behind.
“We were pretty sure how to go about the target. Boys played well and the way we stretched this game, just one or two shots behind. It was really good batting track. Was coming nicely on the bat. Difficult to analyse just after the game, need some time to analyse it.” The loss meant RCB missed the opportunity to go on top of the table.
“We have four games more, just taking one game at a time, one step at a time.” Patidar too praised Marsh for his 56-ball 111 that laid the foundation for LSG’s score.
“Mitchell Marsh was beautiful, the way he played. Kept us under pressure. I was confused about the bowlers – who should I bowl to Mitchell Marsh just after the powerplay. The way we played, that was really good intent showed by all batsmen. Everyone is looking confident and in a great space of mind,” he said.
