Even 240 wouldn't have been enough: KL Rahul

After only one win in their last four games, Sunrisers Hyderabad have pumped up their playoff chances with a 10-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in Match 57 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Chasing 166, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma smashed the LSG bowlers all over the park, completing the run chase in only 9.4 overs. It is the quickest 150+ run chase in the history of T20 cricket. 

“I am lost for words,” said the LSG skipper KL Rahul about the whirlwind partnership between the Hyderabad openers. “We have watched that kind of batting on TV. But this is unreal batting. Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat. Kudos to their skills. They have worked hard on their six hitting skills,” he said. 

SRH were 107/0 in the powerplay, almost four times what LSG managed in their first six overs - 27/2. It is the lowest powerplay score for LSG in their brief IPL tint as yet. The consensus was that the pitch was slow but Head and Abhishek smashed those qualms. 

“When we lost wickets in the powerplay, we couldn't get any momentum,” Rahul spoke about the slow start after he opted to bat first. “They didn't give us a chance to know what the pitch played in the second innings. It was hard to stop them as they teed off from ball one. We were 40-50 runs short,” Rahul assessed the defeat. 

Head, the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 89 off 30 balls, said it was great fun to complete the chase in such a manner. “Nice to get this done in 10 overs. Abhi (Abhishek) and I have had a few partnerships like this. Just concentrate on getting in good positions, watch the ball hard and try to maximize the powerplay,” Head spoke.

“The last 12 months, that's how they wanted me to play in the Aussie team, and that's what I've been told to do here as well. Nothing much that I have to change,” Head explained further about his intent. 

Head shed light on his improving game against spin. In this clash, he hammered the LSG spinners for 55 runs from 20 balls. ‘It is something I have been working on, it will be a big part in the Caribbean as well. It is important to go 360 in the modern game,” he said. 

Pat Cummins, the SRH skipper and the birthday boy, praised both the openers for finishing the game in the blink of an eye. 

“He's (Head) been like this for two years, he hits the tough areas, hits the middle a lot, might not be super conventional. Just an incredible player of spin and pace (Abhishek). With just two fielders out, it is really difficult for the bowlers against them,” Cummins said. 

What was a winnable score for LSG batting first? KL Rahul didn’t have an answer to that. 

“Even if we would have got 240, they could have chased it as well,” Rahul said. 

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