'Had the Game in Pocket; Let it Slip,' KL Rahul Shows Sorrow After GT Loss
LSG lost a close game by 7 runs to GT (AP Photo)
Despite KL Rahul's hard-fought 68, Lucknow Super Giants saw an embarrassing loss at the hands of Hardik Pandya's Gujarat Titans, thanks to masterful death bowling by Mohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami. In a mere chase of 136 runs, the Super Giants fell 7 runs short of Gujarat's target.
After Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis restricted the Gujarat batters to a below-par total, Rahul started things in fashion, putting LSG ahead in the chase. Still, tight bowling from Noor Ahmad and Mohit pulled the game back in GT's favour.
Letting out his sorrow, the LSG captain confessed that the game was in their pocket, and they let it slip away. He even showed his disappointment by saying that it all happened so fast that he could not put his finger on one thing.
"I don't know how this has happened, and it happened so fast. That's cricket, which keeps reminding us that the game is never won until the last ball. I still can't put my finger on it and say where we went wrong, but it is what it is; we've lost two points. We had the game in our pockets, and we let it slip."
The 31-year-old applauded how his bowlers bowled before saying that despite the loss, they are on the right path and would return more robust.
"(Target of) 135 was probably parred or 10 under par as we bowled really well. We know these conditions, so we used them well. The bowlers were very clear with their plans, and their execution was spot on. It's a game, and these things keep happening, but this will sting us for a while, and we'll try and come back strong. We are doing a lot of things right. We are 8 points strong, 7 games we have played. We are still good as a team. These things happen; you are something on the wrong side," Rahul concluded.
The skipper carried LSG's toll on him with a fighting 61-ball 68 on a challenging Lucknow track; however, he failed to take his team over the line. Earlier in the game, he also became the fastest Indian to 7000 T20 runs, going past Virat Kohli.
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