After the Lucknow Super Giants’ six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings, captain KL Rahul commended Marcus Stoinis for his exceptional match-winning innings of 124 runs off 63 balls. Rahul acknowledged that Chennai’s score of 210/4 was at least 30 runs above par given the Chepauk pitch’s past performance. Stoinis’ remarkable hitting proved too much for Ruturaj Gaikwad’s elegant century, powering LSG to a convincing win in their second match against CSK this season.
Despite previously dismissing the importance of strike rate in T20 cricket, Rahul now acknowledges its value, saying that even a daunting total of 180 might not be enough in this era of the “Impact Player” rule. This rule allows mid-match player substitutions, which inject flexibility and firepower into the team lineup. It has reshaped scoring rates and match dynamics.
In the post-match presentation, KL Rahul made the following statement:
“Stoinis deserves full credit for his clever and selective batting. He targeted bowlers and batted superbly. We realized we should have been braver in capitalizing on the powerplay overs and needed a power-hitter in the top 3. T20 cricket has evolved in recent years – 170-180 runs are no longer sufficient. Teams must maximize the powerplay overs and the impact player rule provides additional depth to do so.”
Although Rahul only managed 16 runs off 14 balls, the LSG opener was highly aggressive in the previous match against CSK, scoring 83 off 52 deliveries. With fellow opener Quinton de Kock struggling in the powerplay, Rahul assumed control of the run-scoring, striking at over 200 (31 off 15 balls) before pacing his innings as needed in LSG’s successful 177-run chase.
Rahul, the captain of LSG, surpassed 300 runs during his innings against CSK on Tuesday. With 302 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 141.42, he faces strong competition from other players vying for selection in the T20 World Cup squad.