Once Mayank went, KL Rahul sir told me that this could be my day: Yash Thakur

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) picked up a comfortable 33-run win on Sunday, April 7 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow after Yash Thakur's maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) five-for helped them defend a target of 164 on a sporting wicket against Gujarat Titans.

After KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first, Marcus Stoinis smashed a 43-ball 58 and Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni played important cameos to take the Super Giants to 163/5 in their 20 overs. After the Titans got off to a brisk start, the exuberant Mayank Yadav was brought on to bowl inside the powerplay for the first time. However, he bowled just one over and conceded 13 runs before walking off the field with a side strain.

After this, Thakur stepped up as he dismissed the in-form Shubman Gill off the last ball of the sixth over to open the floodgates. Eventually, the right-arm pacer finished with figures of 5/30 in 3.5 overs as the Titans were bowled out for 130. Following his Player of the Match performance, Thakur revealed the advice skipper Rahul gave him after Mayank left the field.

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"Once Mayank went, Rahul sir told me that this could be my day and that I could win the game for the side. He told me to back myself and told me to back the controllables instead of worrying about what I can't control," said Thakur at the post-match press conference.

My focus is to have clarity in my plans, I've tried to keep things simple: Thakur

Notably, the 25-year-old bowls military medium pace but can bamboozle the batters with his subtle change of lengths and tactical usage of the crease. He said that he knows his limitations and tries to focus on the things he can control.

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"Very few can bowl at the speeds that he (Mayank) does, it is a God-given gift. I know my limitations and my strengths. I just back my strengths. My focus this season is to have clarity in my plans. I've tried to keep things simple instead of thinking too many things at a time. I've tried to only focus on the things that I can control," Thakur stated.

Lucknow Super Giants registered their third straight win and have now moved to No. 3 on the IPL 2024 points table behind Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.