HARDIK GOES BY HISTORY, RAHUL BY INSTINCT

There was some confusion about the toss after KL Rahul misheard Hardik Pandya’s call but neither had any doubt about what to choose. Hardik wanted to bat, Rahul wanted to bowl. Hardik got his wish. For the first time this season a team opted to bat first in Pune, also the second time a team chose to bat first in a night game. Eight out of 11 matches before this were won by teams batting first and Hardik went with that statistic. KL Rahul, however, was convinced of using his bowlers first because he didn’t know how the pitch would behave. Lucknow Super Giants restricted Gujarat Titans to 144, but it was Hardik who had the last laugh as LSG’S chase disintegrated.