IPL 2023: Rahul probably pulled his hip flexor, medical team is assessing him, says Krunal Pandya

Lucknow Super Giants’ stand-in captain Krunal Pandya on Monday said regular skipper KL Rahul pulled his hip flexor muscle but the extent of his injury is yet to be ascertained.

LSG lost a low-scoring IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore here by 18 runs.

Asked to bowl first, LSG suffered a big blow early in the game when Rahul pulled his right thigh muscle while chasing a ball towards the extra cover boundary, and then limped off the ground.

With LSG needing 24 runs off eight balls, an injured Rahul came out to bat at number 11 but failed to open his account in the three deliveries he faced.

“It is a sad thing. He (Rahul) pulled his hip flexor, I guess. I do not know how bad it is. The medical team will assess it,” Pandya said at the post-match presentation.

Pandya, however, was pretty happy with the effort of LSG bowlers for restricting a batting-heavy RCB to 126 for nine, albeit in a losing cause.

“We did pretty well in the first half restricting them. It was a great team effort. Really happy with how we have bowled this tournament. 126, at the start of the game, we would have taken. But we just could not execute our plans,” he said.

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, who was also the player of the match for his 40-ball 44, said the fifty-run stand with Virat Kohli on a difficult surface was a match-winning partnership.

“To have a fifty partnership in the first six overs was a match-winning partnership in the end. Batting first was important. They had four spinners but it looked like right through, playing spin was hard work. It is a little bit easier for a captain, at the Chinnaswamy, it feels like the ball is going everywhere,” he said.

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“I would have liked 135. In my mind, that was a really good score and we were going towards that score. Once again, if you come in on this pitch, it is really tough to score. Said to the boys that if we get two or three early wickets, it would be hard for them.” Du Plessis praised the efforts of his bowling unit, especially Karn Sharma (2/20) and comeback man Josh Hazlewood (2/15).

“I am super happy for Karn. One of those guys who does the hard work all the time but does not get the recognition. Playing at Chinnaswamy is tough for a leg-spinner. Unbelievable from him tonight.

“We have missed Hazlewood’s experience. Someone like him brings so much calmness and composure. Nice way to ease him into the competition,” he said.