Rahul wanted ’20 more’ from himself and Hooda

“We left about 20 runs behind,” Rahul told the host broadcaster after the game. “We didn’t get off to an ideal start but the partnership that me and Deepak Hooda had [got us on track].”

LSG had been reduced to 11 for 2 after being put in to bat but recovered while maintaining a good run rate thanks to Rahul and Hooda’s 115-run stand off 62 balls for the third wicket. The duo smashed 45 in the three overs leading up to Hooda falling for a 31-ball 50. Rahul carried on but couldn’t apply the finishing touches. He perished in the 18th over and LSG mustered only 25 runs in their last last three overs to finish with 196 for 5.

“Once we were set, that’s the time [in which] if Hooda could have pushed on, got 20 more runs and if I could have pushed on and gotten 20 more runs, we could’ve probably finished at 220; and we’re seeing with more games being played that it’s important for the batters to make sure we give that extra cushion for the bowlers.

“They [RR] bowled well in the last couple of overs, we were in a good position at 150 for 3 by the end of the 15th over. So, I think we should have capitalised a bit more and got about 20-25 runs more.”

RR got off to a strong start in the chase but then LSG fought back to remove the in-form trio of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag in quick succession to have them 78 for 3 in the ninth. Legspinner Amit Mishra, playing his first game of the season, was brought in as the Impact Player and got Parag with his fourth ball. Mishra’s second over, the 11th, went for 12 and he did not bowl another.

Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya bowled out at the end of 15 overs, but LSG’s other main spin option, legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, who has played all nine of their games this season, was denied an opportunity to bowl till the 16th over. At that point the equation read 53 needed off 30 with seven wickets in hand. Rahul explained the reasoning behind bringing Mishra into the XI, and Bishnoi being held back.

“Mishra is an experienced player and we’ve been thinking about using him from the first game,” Rahul said. “Today was the day where we felt like he could be useful against their batters in the middle [order] with how slow he bowls and the slightly larger boundary. That was the idea of using him and we were hoping to use Bishnoi in the latter half.

“But once the runs kept flowing – even when they lost wickets, they just made sure that they put pressure on our bowlers… There was a period of two or three overs where Krunal bowled really well and we really squeezed them hard.

“But then, once the faster bowlers came on, they [the batters] used the pace really well and I couldn’t find a good time to bring in Bishnoi, and I think it was a bit too late by the time I got him on. Obviously, the plan was to keep him at the back end and make sure if Rovman [Powell] and [Shimron] Hetmyer come in to bat, he’s bowled well against them. That was the plan of how we wanted to use our legspinners.”