"He has delivered for us under pressure" - KL Rahul lauds Ayush Badoni after closing out tight game vs DC

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul showered praise on young Ayush Badoni for his last-over heroics against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Thursday. His three-ball 10* earned the new entrants their third win of IPL 2022.

LSG needed five runs off the final over but Shardul Thakur dismissed the well-set Deepak Hooda off the first ball to turn the match on its head. But the 22-year-old Badoni kept a calm head to strike a boundary and six to make it three wins in a row for his side.

KL Rahul spoke highly of Badoni, saying it would be a great learning for the cricketer. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rahul said:

"Badoni has held his nerve every time he has gone into bat and he's delivered for us under pressure. Great learning for him, important for him to keep working hard and stay humble. Been a complete team effort so far. The way everyone has stepped up has been incredible."

The highly underrated cricketer from Delhi has chipped in with useful contributions every time he has come out to bat. So far, he has scored 102 runs from four outings, including a fifty and a couple of short cameos.

Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock set up the victory with 80-run innings, decorated with nine boundaries and two sixes, while chasing 150. KL Rahul also chipped in with a patient knock of 24 runs from 25 balls. The openers added 73 runs for the first wicket that set up the chase.

When asked about the decision to chase after winning the toss, Rahul pointed out that the IPL teams are interested in bowling when the wicket is fresh. He continued:

"You can't just make something up every time. You have no idea what to anticipate from the pitch. Teams may wish to bowl first early in the match when the pitches are still fresh."

The teams are also considering the dew factor, which has had a massive impact on most of the games so far in the tournament.

Check out the most six in IPL here.

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"We need to go back and improve on the powerplay" - KL Rahul on his bowlers

While it was a difficult wicket to bat on, it seemed like Delhi Capitals' Prithvi Shaw was batting on a different track. He took on the Lucknow bowlers in the first six overs, hitting everything at his disposal.

By the time he got out, the scoreboard read 67/1 in 7.3 overs, out of which Shaw amassed 61. KL Rahul stressed that they need to better their efforts with the powerplay overs.

He concluded:

"I think we were brilliant with the ball. We certainly need to go back and improve on the powerplay. But that's how powerplays sometimes go. After that, we took a good look at everything and improved our bowling. Obviously, the bowlers should have assessed the situation a little earlier, but it was wonderful to watch them talk about the lines, lengths, and pace to bowl after the powerplay."

However, they did an exceptional job of pulling back the strings and restricting Delhi to 149 runs with two set batters in the middle. Jason Holder conceded only 13 runs in the 18th and 20th overs, while Avesh Khan gave away just six runs in the 19th.

With this victory, the Lucknow Super Giants are second in the IPL 2022 points table with six points in four games. Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, are seventh on the chart with only a solitary victory from three matches.