The Lucknow Super Giants’ first IPL season ended with a 14-run loss against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday. Faf du Plessis and co will now face the Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2, in a bid to confirm a berth in the finals on May 29. 

Chasing a mammoth 208-run total on a sluggish Kolkata pitch, LSG managed 193. KL Rahul top-scored for his side with 79 runs. However, except for Deepak Hooda’s 45, he did not receive much support from others in the team’s line-up. 

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Talking after the loss, Rahul admitted that Lucknow’s conservative middle-overs approach bit them. The 30-year-old also admitted that “two big hits” would have probably done the job for his team. 

“Yes, I think now, looking back, yes, it was just about two big hits in the middle overs and that could have gotten us over the line,” Rahul said in the post-match press conference.

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Rahul, himself, batted quiet patiently until it was too late. He brought up his half-century in 43 balls. There was a seven-over period after the powerplay during which he managed to hit just one boundary.

Reflecting on the season, the LSG skipper said, “We won a few games but generally overall we did not do well chasing. It’s something that we need to learn. For me, I think this season has been like every other season, has been a good learning experience.”

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“We, as a team as well, it’s been a very challenging season. We’ve learned a lot.”

KL Rahul finished the season as the second-highest run-getter. He scored 616 runs in 15 games at an average of 51.33 and strike rate of more than 135. The LSG skipper scored two hundreds and four half-centuries. He will now lead India in the five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting June 9.