It was a sight that has not often performed on the Indian Premier League (IPL). Chasing a paltry goal of 136 in opposition to defending champions Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants had reached 105/1 in 14 overs. With simply 31 wanted off the following six overs and half-centurion KL Rahul on the crease, a win was inside grasp for LSG. But then what transpired shocked everyone.  GT bowlers checked the run stream as they conceded 19 runs and took two wickets within the subsequent 5 overs. Going into the final over, LSG wanted 12 off the final six balls. Though it was robust, it was not unattainable, particularly with a set Rahul, batting on 66, on the crease.

But GT had another concepts with Mohit Sharma placing in an ideal effort with the ball. He picked the wickets of Rahul and Marcus Stoinis off the second and third balls. Then on the fourth and fifth deliveries, Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda had been run out. And with that, LSG’s destiny was sealed within the recreation. Ultimately, the Rahul-led facet misplaced the match by seven runs.

Rahul had no rationalization concerning the defeat. “I don’t know how it happened, but it has happened. I can’t put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost 2 points today, this is cricket. I thought we were brilliant with the ball, 135 was 10 runs under par, the bowling was exceptional, we started well with the bat, but these things happen, we’ll have to take it on the chin,” KL Rahul, LSG skipper, mentioned after his group misplaced the match.

“But still a long way to go, 8 points off 7 games, we were on the wrong side of the result today. We were well ahead in the game and I wasn’t really trying to bat deep, I still wanted to play my shots, take on the bowlers, but they bowled well in that 2-3 over period, by Noor and Jayant, we perhaps should have taken a few more chances with wickets in hand, they bowled decently, but I think we missed out on some boundary opportunities, the pressure got to us in the last 3-4 overs, we played well until then. They did bowl well though.”