According to Rahul, the six-day gap between the two games helped the players recover from the defeat and come back stronger.
“The last game was a bit disappointing and we suffered as a team,” Rahul said in the post-match presentation. “But after that we got a break of three or four days, which was good. Everyone got some time off, took their focus off cricket and got a bit of rest. We came back refreshed and we were always clear about how we wanted to bat. Want.”
Stoinis made the biggest contribution with the bat and scored 72 runs in 40 balls. Chasing the target with the ball, he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the very first over. His player-of-the-match performance would have tasted even better had he not injured his finger while trying to stop the follow-through.
This happened in Stoinis’ second over, when he tried to block a shot from Atharva Teide and got injured on his left index finger. Groaning in pain, Stoinis almost immediately went down on his knees and walked off the field after initial treatment by the physio.
“It’s been better but yes, it’s the same,” Stoinis said after the game. “We’ll get a scan later.”
The Mohali pitch was a stark contrast to the slow pitch on which the Super Giants played against the Titans. Talking about what he and Badoni were discussing during their 89-run partnership in 47 balls for the third wicket, Stoinis said, “We were joking about the difference between the home surface and our surface , and how we can take advantage of it and take advantage of it.” Beautiful batting wicket.
“No, I wasn’t (thinking about 250). I don’t think Ayush was either. We were just trying to build a partnership. He also went to a flyer and was hitting some good shots; He’s a very talented player. We’re just trying to build on that and that’s our sole focus.”
This was the first time that Stoinis was batting at number 4 in this IPL. Till now, he has batted at either number 5 or 6. But he is not really worried about batting higher up the order. And while he has taken five wickets in just 8.5 overs in the tournament, he felt his bowling was better suited to the slower pitches in Lucknow.
“I also enjoy the responsibility of batting down a bit and watching the game at home,” he said. “Part of my journey has been to bat in every position. Bowl the first over, bowl the last over, try to mix and match, whatever my team needs I’m happy to do.”
“I was swinging a bit in the nets that day, so the bowling coach got a bit excited and thought maybe I should start with the new ball. But perhaps our home wicket is a bit more suited to me in terms of increasing the pace and a bit “Being more creative and using the wicket. Nobody likes bowling to a flat ball.”