Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer defended his side’s controversial Super Over decision to back Nicholas Pooran, insisting the team simply trusted its best player. But in the end, the plan unravelled quickly when Pooran was dismissed on the very first ball by Sunil Narine, leaving LSG with only a single run to defend as Kolkata Knight Riders chased it down in one delivery.
Key takeaways
- Langer said Pooran was sent out in the Super Over because LSG wanted to back their strongest option in a must-win moment.
- Pooran’s Super Over ended instantly when Sunil Narine removed him on the first ball.
- In the regular match, Pooran managed 9 runs off 12 balls before Varun Chakravarthy sent him back.
- LSG appeared set after needing 17 runs from the final over, yet Kartik Tyagi’s over forced the contest into a Super Over.
- KKR ultimately won thanks to Narine’s two wickets involving Pooran and Aiden Markram during the tiebreak.
- After losing to KKR, LSG dropped to the bottom of the points table with 4 points from 8 matches.
Langer explains the Super Over call
Speaking after the match, Langer maintained that the selection for the tiebreak was a deliberate attempt to leverage Pooran’s familiarity with Narine. The left-handed batter was paired with Aiden Markram for the Super Over, but the execution failed at the first hurdle when Narine struck immediately.
The head coach argued that Pooran has faced the spinner more than any other player in world cricket, and that familiarity was the key reason behind the decision. Langer also acknowledged that Pooran has not yet found his rhythm, but suggested this was precisely the type of pressure situation where the team believed he could deliver.
He told reporters: “We knew that Sunil Narine was the bowler, and if you look at Nicky Pooran’s record, he’s seen Narine more than anyone in world cricket. So, we felt he was still the best. I know he hasn’t hit his form yet, and Nicky will be the first, but we thought if anyone can handle a Super Over, it’s Nicky Pooran. And you back your best players, right? That’s what you do.”
Langer added that, statistically, Pooran has been the strongest among all batters against Narine—though the result did not go LSG’s way.
Pooran’s struggles against Narine continue
Before this KKR versus LSG meeting, Pooran’s record versus Narine in all T20s read as 131.08 strike rate, with an average of 49. Even with those numbers, the spinner had dismissed him on four occasions across 148 balls, showing how often Narine’s match-ups can turn at key moments.
The narrative also carried extra history. Pooran had previously been involved in a Super Over against Narine in the Caribbean Premier League 12 years earlier, where he played out a maiden tiebreak against the same bowler.
What happened in the main match
While the Super Over became the headline, the regular contest also leaned against LSG due to Pooran’s batting output. He returned with a score of 9 runs from 12 balls and was dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy, sending him back to the pavilion once again in a disappointing outing.
LSG then had to navigate a tense finish. The chase was not fully settled until the final over, when the scenario tightened to 17 runs required from the last set. However, Kartik Tyagi’s over proved costly, and the match slipped away into a tie and, ultimately, a Super Over.
Narine delivers in the tiebreak; LSG end bottom
In the Super Over, Narine’s impact decided the contest. He took two wickets involving Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram, restricting LSG to just one run in the tiebreak. KKR chased the target down in a single ball to seal the win.
Langer also addressed Pooran’s broader form in the ongoing IPL season. He suggested it is only a matter of time before the batter comes good, despite the current slump. In the eight matches Pooran has played so far, he has scored 82 runs, with an average slightly above 10.
The head coach said: “He’s working on it, and it’s amazing that even big players like him, there’s probably no greater T20 player currently in the world over the last few years, it just goes to show he’s human, and you can’t fake confidence.”
He continued: “We all try to, you can look like you are confident, but confidence comes from getting your processes right, and we’re working every day with him, and he is working very hard to get it back. Sometimes this is a tough game of cricket, my gosh, it’s a tough game.”
With the loss to KKR, LSG slipped to the bottom of the points table, holding just 4 points from 8 matches.
