New Delhi: Picking out-of-form Nicholas Pooran to bat in their Super Over against Kolkata Knight Riders was counter-productive for Lucknow Super Giants though head coach Justin Langer felt it wasn’t an ill-advised idea.

Pooran has failed to get going in IPL 2026 so far with only 22 being his highest scorer and on Sunday was bowled out on the first ball of Super Over that was delivered by fellow West Indian Sunil Narine.

LSG could make only one run in three balls as Aiden Markram was caught in the deep on the third ball as in reply, Rinku Singh hit the first ball into the boundary to complete KKR’s victory.

“We knew that Sunil Narine had bowled it, and if you look at Nicky’s (Nicholas Pooran) record, he’s seen Sunil Narine more than anyone in world cricket. So we felt that he was still the best option,” Langer said after the match at Ekana Stadium.

“I know he hasn’t hit his form yet, and Nicky will be the first to admit that, but we thought if anyone can handle a Super Over, it’s Nicky Pooran. You back your best players.

“He has struggled, but if you look at all the numbers, no one plays Narine, the world-class off-spinner, better than Nicky. It didn’t come off, unfortunately,” he added.

History ignored

LSG would have well served from an incident 12 years ago when Narine became the only bowler to bowl a maiden Super Over in T20 history, with Pooran being the batter unable to score during a Caribbean Premier League match in 2014.

But like Langer, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant also thought Pooran was their best choice in the Super Over.

“There’s probably no greater T20 player (than Pooran) currently in the world over the last few years. It just goes to show he’s human, and you can’t fake confidence. We all try to. You can look confident, but confidence comes from getting your processes right,” Langer said.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant had also defended the choice of Pooran to bat in the Super Over.

“We had a discussion as a group and the name (that) came up was (of) Nicholas Pooran’s (for Super Over). He might not go through the best form of his life, but at the same time, you will trust your player in a hard situation like this,” Pant said.