IPL 2022: Match 15, LSG vs DC – Who Said What

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seem to have been walking with all the beginner’s luck as they emerged victorious over Delhi Capitals in the 15^th clash of IPL 2022 by six wickets. Winning the toss, KL Rahul and his men called the 2020 finalists to put up the target first where Prithvi Shaw set a dreamy start for the Capitals.

Shaw smashed 61 off 34 and failed to grab support from Australian star David Warner and Rovman Powell. However, some late hitting by Rishabh Pant (39* off 36) and Sarfaraz Khan (36* off 28) pushed DC to put 149 in front of KL and company. Young leggie Ravi Bishnoi once again repaid the faith instilled in him as he returned with two wickets while conceding at a stunning 5.50. It was Bishnoi only who didn’t allow Warner’s bat to roar in his 2022 opening game.

Quinton de Kock shines with the bat for LSG

As soon as LSG set their foot for the chase, skipper KL Rahul (24 of 25) became the victim of Kuldeep Yadav’s golden run in the season. However, there was no stopping star Protea Quinton de Kock once he got his rhythm as he smashed 80 off 52 in the process. Not much was left for others to tackle but Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya successfully took LSG over the line with stunning boundaries. Mustafizur Rahman remained economical on the day while Kuldeep got two wickets.

Winning skipper, KL Rahul said:

I think we were brilliant (with the ball). In the powerplay, we obviously need to go back and work on. But that’s how powerplays go sometimes. We assessed things well after that and bowled better. Obviously, would have loved the bowlers to assess things a bit earlier, but it was nice to see them discuss the lines, lengths and pace to bowl after the powerplay. That was the honest reason actually (on him saying at the toss that he had no idea why he opted to bowl). Can’t make up a reason every time. You don’t know what to expect of the pitch. Early on in the competition when the pitches are fresh, teams might want to bowl first. Once the tournament goes on and the pitches grip a bit, teams might want to bat.

Losing skipper, Rishabh Pant said:

When the dew is like that you can’t be complaining, as a batting unit we were 10-15 short, at the end Avesh and Holder pulled it back, credit to them. We were talking about giving 100% till the last ball of the 40th over, no matter what happens [on his chat to the team before the start of the 2nd innings]. The powerplay was fine, we didn’t get any wicket, our spin attack did well in the middle overs but in the end we were 10-15 short.

Player of the match, Quinton de Kock said:

 It was a matter of just playing what’s in front of you, reacting to it. It was a chase-able score. You want a decent start in the powerplay and we didn’t want to get too ahead in the chase. Was important to keep wickets in hand. Prithvi did make it look easy, for me I also felt that it was a slow surface. Even with the dew, there was a bit of grip. If we were chasing 180, might have been difficult but thanks to our bowlers.