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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul has expressed regret over his team’s failure to maximize their batting potential in their home game against Rajasthan Royals (RR), which resulted in a narrow defeat.

“We left about 20 runs behind,” Rahul admitted after the match. “We didn’t get off to an ideal start, but the partnership that Deepak Hooda and I had got us on track.”

LSG had stumbled to 11 for 2 before Rahul and Hooda steadied the innings with a 115-run stand off 62 balls. However, Rahul believes they could have pushed the total even higher.

“Once we were set, that’s the time when if Hooda could have pushed on and gotten 20 more runs, and if I could have pushed on and gotten 20 more runs, we could’ve probably finished at 220,” Rahul said. “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.”

RR bowled well in the last couple of overs, but Rahul felt LSG should have capitalized more on their strong position at 150 for 3 after 15 overs.

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

Rahul also explained the team’s decision to bring in legspinner Amit Mishra as the Impact Player and hold back Ravi Bishnoi, who has been a regular in the LSG lineup.

“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.”

However, the plan didn’t quite work out as RR kept the pressure on LSG’s bowlers.

“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,” Rahul said.

“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.”