Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul didn't want to read too much into his team's 20-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals in their opening game of IPL 2024, but has said that none of the teams have been able to crack the powerplay code in the first week of the season so far.
The two-bouncer-per-over rule has been introduced in IPL from this season and LSG were bounced out in the first six overs of their chase of 194, falling to 47 for 3. In comparison, Rajasthan Royals had scored 54 for 2 in their first 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."
Having missed the better part of the last season with a hamstring injury, Rahul was happy to start the current edition of the IPL with a half-century.
"When you get runs, you always feel good," he said. "But it's important for us to end up on the winning side. That gives more satisfaction."
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."