Lucknow, Apr 13: Lucknow Super Giants looked set to take the chase away from Delhi Capitals after the powerplay but visiting captain Rishabh Pant and debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk have flipped the tables on the hosts. The latter announced his arrival in the IPL with a 31-ball half-century. Fraser-McGurk was dismissed for 55 off 35 balls and then Pant continued to get to 41 off 24. Tristan Stubbs then ended the chase with a six in the 19th over.
Kuldeep Yadav, Player of the Match, said, Was tough when I wasn’t fit. Got injured first game and was difficult to see the team struggling in the middle overs. Credit goes to Patrick (Farhart) to maintain my fitness and get me ready quickly. All three were important wickets, it was crucial to get wickets in the middle overs to control the run rate. I liked the first and second wicket, I have played a lot against Pooran and the execution for that was right. I was clear with my plans, just the length matters for me as a spinner. Very clear and confident with my skills. Whenever I feel the DRS call is 50/50, I try to push for it but when it is more 60/40 then I tend to listen to Rishabh. As a bowler, you obviously want to take the DRS whenever possible. We’ve got 2 reviews, so obviously one is for me.
Rishabh Pant said, Little relief, we wanted a win badly. I was talking to the boys saying we need to think like champions, we need to keep fighting hard. (On bowling) We have phases where we are not up to the mark, some individuals have to take responsibility for that. However, we stick together as a group. Some things you can control, some things we can’t. (On team combination) I think we are getting closer to the right XI, but we’ve had so many injuries in this group. However, you can’t keep complaining about that. (On Fraser-McGurk) Hopefully, we’ve found our new number 3, haven’t thought too much about it. Hope he can continue.
KL Rahul said, If I want to be harsh, I think we were 15-20 runs short, we got off to a good start, we could have capitalised and got 180. There was a bit of help for the seamers, the odd ball kept low. Kuldeep made its use (and got those wickets.) The new guys when they come in, it’s pretty unknown for us. He (Jake Fraser-McGurk) hit the ball well, credit to him. We always walk in with the same mindset, want to hit the right areas. We got Warner in the powerplay, got a couple of wickets after the powerplay. The set batters – Pant and McGurk took the game away from us after that dropped catch. We travel tomorrow and play an afternoon game (on Sunday). That’s how the schedule goes, need to turn up, could be tough during Indian summers. In hindsight you can always wonder you could have done something different. There wasn’t much spin after Axar’s over, so I thought Pooran could have put some pressure on the opposition, if he was set. He would have been dangerous, but credit to Kuldeep for getting him out. He (Mayank Yadav) is feeling good, he looks good, but we don’t want to rush him. We need to protect his body, he’s itching to go. Need to make sure that he’s hundred percent (fit) before he comes back.
