Nicholas Pooran was Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) best option for the Super Over, given his record against Sunil Narine in T20 cricket over the years, LSG coach Justin Langer said after the loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match here at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium on Sunday.

Coming in to bat first in the Super Over, Pooran was cleaned up by Narine off the first ball. LSG managed just one run as Narine had Aiden Markram caught the very next delivery. KKR wrapped up the game off the first ball to register its second win in eight matches.

“We knew Sunil Narine would bowl, and if you look at Nicholas Pooran’s record, he’s faced Narine more than almost anyone in world cricket,” Langer said after the game. “We felt he was still our best option.”

Pooran hasn’t been among the runs this season: 82 in eight innings at an average of 10.25 and a strike rate of 81.18. Acknowledging the dip, Langer added, “I know he hasn’t hit form yet, but if anyone can produce a big moment, it’s Nicky. You back your best players. He has struggled, but the numbers say no one plays Narine better than him. Unfortunately, it didn’t come off.”

Langer also pointed out that such phases are part of the game. “Even great players like him – probably one of the greatest T20 players of the last few years – it just shows he’s human. You can’t force confidence. You can try to look confident, but it comes from getting your processes right and working every day. He’s putting in the effort to get it back.”

At the halfway mark, LSG would have fancied its chances after restricting KKR to 155 for seven. However, it might not have crossed even 140 if not for Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 83 off 51 balls. KKR was 112 for seven after 18 overs before Rinku smashed 17 and 26 in the final two overs. Langer admitted those late runs proved costly.

“For 18 overs, we felt on top of the game. Then they get 40-odd at the end, suddenly get a sniff, and with two world-class spinners like Varun (Chakaravarthy) and Sunil (Narine), they would have felt right back in it,” he said.

KKR fast bowler Vaibhav Arora also credited Rinku’s late burst, including four consecutive sixes off Digvesh Rathi in the final over. “We won because of Rinku’s innings. Had he not played that knock, we wouldn’t have reached that total. On this pitch, 155 was a decent score,” he said.

Arora added that while the pitch was challenging, it wasn’t unplayable. “I thought we bowled really well, especially in the PowerPlay, where we conceded just 37 runs and picked up a wicket. That phase gave us momentum, and then we controlled the middle overs very well.”

The pacer also said there was no confusion over the Super Over bowler. “Sunil Narine has been our best bowler and has been with us for so long that everyone trusts him to do the job, and he did it superbly. There wasn’t much confusion; we had our best bowler, so we had the advantage going into the Super Over.”

Published on Apr 27, 2026