“See, I think we definitely need a break,” Pant said at the presentation. “I think we’re going to refresh. You know, there is always pressure and it’s going to be a pressure game, always. But at the same time we have to look at answers inside, not outside. And just keep it simple, man. Just take accountability, each and every guy. Like, it can’t be about one or two guys, it has to be about the whole unit. And a lot of people will take accountability for that, for sure.”

One of the worries for LSG has been the form of Nicholas Pooran, who has scored just 82 runs so far at an average of 10.25 and a strike rate of 81.18. LSG still sent him out in the Super Over, along with Pant. Pooran was bowled first ball while LSG lasted three balls overall, with the next batter Aiden Markram too out for a duck.

“As a group, we had a discussion,” Pant said. “And the name that came up was Nicky P. He might not go through the best form of his life. But at the same time, you got to trust your player in a hard situation like this. They’re going to come off nicely. So, no excuses there. Just, looking at the positive. There might not be enough positive right now. But I think after the break, there will be a lot of enough positive, for sure.”

LSG had started well after opting to bowl. They reduced KKR to 31 for 4 in the seventh over, leaving them struggling at 129 for 7 after 19 overs. But four sixes in a row in the last over from Rinku Singh off Digvesh Rathi propelled KKR to a far more respectable 155, which they nearly defended. Why was legspinner Rathi given the last over?

“See, there are always times in cricket where you can turn [things] a little bit with bowling,” Pant said. “But sometimes, a bowler’s got to bowl that hard overs, you know. And there will be times when I have to give him that in middle overs. Because I was looking for a wicket, I just didn’t get one. That was the thought process behind it. And too many minds doesn’t make it easy on the ground.”

Narine: Bit easier when you bowl a Super Over first

“I think you have no other choice,” Narine said when asked if he enjoyed bowling Super Overs. “I think when you’re bowling good you have the opportunity to do it. It’s always a tough situation but I think it’s a bit easier when you bowl a Super Over first.

“It’s up there,” he said of the delivery to dismiss Pooran. “I think obviously the situation makes it a bit better but in saying that I’m genuinely happy for the team. I think we have been struggling, and you need games like this to try to get momentum. I know it’s going to be tough but I think once you try to take it game by game we’ll be in the good end.

“I think the entire team backed me so I think once everyone said the same thing it was pretty easy and obviously, as I said, bowling first you could relax a little more even though it’s not a much relaxing place to be.

KKR also had to deal with the nerves of the last over when 25-year-old Kartik Tyagi was given the ball with LSG 17 away from the target. After a bye on the first ball, Tyagi sent down two high full tosses and the no-balls made the equation more gettable for LSG. Mohammed Shami leveled the scores with a last-ball six when they needed seven to win.

“Yeah, I think it’s always tough and I mean this,” Narine said of Tyagi’s last over. “I think no matter how senior you are, how junior you are, bowling a last over to defend, no matter who you bowl to, is going to be tough. I think he has been bowling well the entire season. I mean you can’t fault him for those things. Things like that happen but obviously it’s a learning curve and every mistake is something you look forward to, to try to correct it.”

Was it Narine who asked to bowl the Super Over or was it given to him? “I think all the coaching staff said, ‘Sunny, you’re going to bowl it,’ and I just said, ‘Okay, that’s no problem.'”