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Cricket Players'If you guys are too tired to hit the ball...': Flower reveals LSG's 'message' to Rahul, De Kock during KKR clash
LSG head coach Andy Flower has revealed that the dugout sent a message to the opening duo during the game against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The opening duo of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock wreaked havoc on the Kolkata Knight Riders bowling attack on Wednesday night. The Lucknow Super Giants duo forged an unbeaten 210-run stand, slamming the record for the highest opening partnership in Indian Premier League history. De Kock scored an unbeaten 140 off 70 balls and captain Rahul scored 68 not out from 51 balls as they became the first pair to bat the entire 20 overs in an IPL innings. Follow IPL 2022 Coverage
Following the end of the record-smashing innings, LSG's head coach Andy Flower spoke about the incredible partnership between the two, and revealed that the team management had sent out a message to the duo after the 18th over of the game.
“Well, actually, at the end of the 18th over, we sent a message saying, 'if you guys are too tired to hit the ball, you can retire. We can send our big-hitters in,” Flower told Graeme Swann during the mid-game interview on Star Sports.
Flower said that all the batters from 1-9 in the Lucknow Super Giants lineup can hit the ball hard, which is a positive sign for the side.
“These boys, all of them, from 1-9 can hit the ball hard like that. Quinton is hitting balls like that, who is not renowned for his big-hitting actually.. that would've given him a lot of satisfaction," said Flower.
“They (Rahul and Quinton) batted beautifully. We've been seeing some special batting from both of them. They're both brilliant players to watch,” Flower added.
The opening stand from Rahul and De Kock surpassed the previous best of 185 by Jonny Bairstow and David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019, while De Kock also set the highest individual score this season.
LSG eventually went on to register a narrow 2-run win over the Knight Riders. Nitish Rana (42) and captain Shreyas Iyer (50) helped the KKR bounce back after a nervy start and Rinku Singh (40 from 15 balls) almost steered them through to the finishing line; however, his dismissal in the fifth delivery of the final over proved to be the turning point.
