Marcus Stoinis | Player of the Match: In these competitions, there are plenty of better opening batters better than me so Iâll leave it to them. Itâs not just go go go, there were some bowlers we wanted to target and some bowlers we wanted to be more cautious against. There was a phase where I wasnât able to hit the boundaries so it was great Pooran could come in and take the pressure off. Lots of ebbs and flows just tried to keep it in control. Youâre planning and structuring, you're not liking certain bowlers and youâre liking others more. I do think T20 cricket is changing, the scores that have been scored, the impact player role and how teams are taking on the bowlers. Iâve got a great relationship with the coach (Australian Head coach), me not getting a contract, I knew that long ago. Itâs great to let the kids come in and get an opportunity, Iâm happy to let them take my spot. But on the playing front, Iâd like to play and contribute.
KL Rahul | LSG Captain: Very special, especially when itâs a game like that. We were way behind the game when we were batting so it was very special to pull it off. It was a fresh start, both teams started off at 0. Different conditions here. I think they started off really well and put us under pressure. 170-180 wouldâve been a great total here but they batted really well. Full credit to Stoinis. It was not just power hitting, it was very clever batting. He picked his bowlers and played very well. (On sending Stoinis at 3) We felt like we needed to be braver and capitalize the powerplay and needed 1 power-hitter in the top-3. Iâve realized that T20 cricket has changed in the past couple of years, 170-180 doesnât always cut it. You need to go harder in the powerplay and the impact player rule also gives you a bit more depth. (On the change to his own batting) Haven't played much T20 cricket so happy that itâs coming off. Thereâs no set plan, apart from the openers, everyone else is ready to go out whenever we feel it's right. Weâre going to keep it flexible. (On his catch earlier) Not bad, not bad⦠I hope I get the catch of the tournament award (smiles), I was just being modest.
Ruturaj Gaikwad | CSK Captain: Tough pill to swallow, but good game of cricket. LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till 13-14 overs, but Stoinis played a great innings. (On dew) It played a part, there was a huge amount of dew and it took our spinners out of the game. We could have otherwise controlled the game better and taken it deeper. But these are parts of the game, canât control it. Jaddu is batting at number 4 since we lost the second wicket within the powerplay. (On Dubeâs entry point) Our thinking is clear that after the powerplay if there is a wicket, Shivam will come out to bat. We canât force batters to get out after. To be honest, I thought our target wasnât enough, it was just about par because of the dew weâve seen during our practice sessions. But credit to the way LSG batted.
Lucknow Super Giants won by 6 wickets
19.3 4
Over 19.3 Mustafizur Rahman // to Marcus Stoinis, Boundary! Moved right across his stumps and pulled it away behind square on the leg-side, no one out there and it goes for four
19.3 4
Over 19.3 Mustafizur Rahmanto Marcus Stoinis, No ball and Boundary! Came down the track and threw his hands at it and got a thick outside edge, the short third man was very fine and it raced away past his right