Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defeated Punjab Kings by 56 runs in Mohali on Friday.
LSG posted a massive total of 257, with Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers smashing fifties, making them only the second team after Royal Challengers Bangalore to score more than 250 in IPL history.
Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran's quickfire knocks of 43 and 45 respectively ensured LSG maintained their momentum. Punjab Kings fought hard and scored 201, but couldn't chase down LSG's mammoth total, which was the 9th highest in T20 cricket history.
LSG's victory came after they lost to Gujarat Titans, failing to chase 135 on a slow pitch in Lucknow.
KL Rahul, LSG's captain, admitted that the defeat hurt their morale but the three or four days break allowed the team to rejuvenate.
"The last game was a bit of a downer and did hurt a lot of us as a team but we had three or four days break after that which was good. Everyone got their minds off cricket and just rested. Obviously, when we play back home, the wickets are different and challenging and when you come to play on wickets like this, you get excited as a batter," KL Rahul said.
The captain said he was thrilled about the batting performance from the team despite not ticking along with the bat. KL Rahul managed only 12 from 9 balls but he heaped praise on the firepower that Mayers, Stoinis and Badoni offered.
"Getting 250 or 260 speaks very highly of our batting. Those first two or three overs, Kyle put pressure on their bowling and that set the tone for us and we took it from there. We spend a lot of time thinking about what tactics we can use. We have three power-hitters in Kyle, Pooran and Stoinis and then guys who can bat around them. We just try to use players in situations and see how we can get the best out of them." he added.
