Lucknow Super Giants didn’t have the best of starts to their IPL 2022 campaign as they lost their opening match against other newcomers Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. LSG got off to a horrid start as Mohammed Shami dismissed KL Rahul on the first ball he bowled.
Shami was able to get the ball to move both ways to trouble the opposition batters. The gun fast bowler also accounted for Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey. Furthermore, Varun Aaron dismissed Evin Lewis as LSG were under the cosh at 29-4.
However, Deepak Hooda and debutant Ayush Badoni were able to get their team out of the woods as they stitched a fine alliance of 87 runs. Hooda scored 55 runs off 41 balls whereas Badoni also scored a fine fifty on debut to get his team over the 150-run mark.
Thus, LSG was able to post a fighting score however it was always under-par at the Wankhede with the dew also coming in the second innings. Furthermore, LSG bowlers also did a decent job to push the match into the final over as they were able to strike at regular intervals.
In fact, LSG had their noses in front as Gujarat Titans needed 68 runs in the final five overs but Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, and Abhinav Manohar were able to add the finishing touches for their team.
KL Rahul said in the post-match presentation, “It was a phenomenal game. What a way to start the campaign. Starting off like that with the bat was not ideal but the way we recovered was phenomenal. It gives us so much confidence when the batters in the middle and lower order can do the job. We know with the Wankhede the ball can do a bit at the start and if we can get through that it will be ideal. We couldn’t have started the campaign in any better way. There is so much to take away and learn for us. Sometimes you gotta give it to the quality of the bowler. We all know how good Shami is and if anyone could exploit the pitch that is Shami. I knew he would be dangerous. It is good to see him bowl that well. With the way we finished and batted in the second half, we gave ourselves a chance. It gets really difficult with the dew to grip the ball but I don’t want to give that as an excuse. We have to go back and practice bowling with the wet ball. We executed most of our plans but with a wet ball it skids on nicely. Good win for them and good learning for us.”
On the other hand, KL Rahul heaped praise on Ayush Badoni for his superb knock on his debut. Badoni walked into bat when his team was reeling at 29-4. In fact, the youngster was on 13 off 22 balls at one stage but he was able to change gears in the end as he scored 41 off 19 balls.
Rahul added, “He’s (Badoni) baby AB. He has been phenomenal from the first day. For a little boy he packs a punch and plays 360 degrees, so happy for him as he grabbed the opportunity. It was not ideal for him to walk out with us four down but he did well under pressure and hopefully, he can continue doing that.”
LSG will next take on Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday.
