"Watching cricket since 1991 but never saw a better captain than KL Rahul"- Fans react after LSG captain's composed knock in the winning chase vs SRH

KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) side defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets on Friday (April 7) in the 10th match of IPL 2023. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow hosted this contest.

It was the second loss on the trot in as many matches for SRH. LSG, meanwhile, rose to the first position in the points table with two wins from three matches courtesy of their win on Friday.

SRH batted first in the contest after winning the toss. They struggled their way to 121/8 on a two-paced surface as all their batters failed to score freely.

Abdul Samad (21* off 10 balls) was the exception, as his handy cameo lifted SRH to a respectable total in the death overs. Top-order Anmolpreet Singh (31) and Rahul Tripathi (35) got starts but could not convert them into substantial knocks.

In reply, KL Rahul (35 off 31 balls) began positively with a four in the very first over. SRH bowlers tried to make a match out of it by picking up two wickets in the powerplay.

Rahul denied them the chance by stitching sensible partnerships with middle-order batters. Krunal Pandya (34 off 23 balls) eased the pressure on him with a timely knock studded with a few lusty blows.

Adil Rashid dismissed KL Rahul in the 15th over, but LSG was on the brink of a victory by then. Nicholas Pooran (11* off 6 balls) hit a four and six to finish the match in the next over.

Fans were impressed with KL Rahul's captaincy and calm innings in the match. They expressed such reactions through the Twitter platform after the conclusion of the match.

Here are some of the most eye-catching reactions:

---

"We have been here for the last couple of weeks and have practiced in these sort of pitches"- KL Rahul

Speaking at the post-match presentation, LSG captain KL Rahul revealed that they were ready for the challenging pitch on offer for Friday's match. He stated that they had already trained on such tracks during practice sessions ahead of the season. He said:

"Yesterday we knew that this pitch was going to play this way today. We have been here for the last couple of weeks and have practiced in these sort of pitches, so we knew what we were getting into. I felt Krunal is good in the first six, so backed him to come good."

He added:

"We did well as a batting unit in both the games that we have played in Lucknow so far. Each batter has to figure out for himself what the best way to score runs in these kind of surfaces is for them. We are happy that we did well and finished the game comfortably."

LSG will next face RCB on Monday (April 10) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.