In one of the most shocking upsets of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a collapse in their match against the Gujarat Titans. Despite having eight wickets in hand and needing only 30 runs to win off the last six overs, they were unable to chase down the target of 136.
KL Rahul, the captain of LSG, scored 68 runs off 61 balls before being dismissed, and his strike rate has faced criticism following the defeat.
At the beginning of his innings, KL Rahul managed to hit 30 runs in just 12 balls, but then his pace slowed down considerably. In fact, he scored only 18 runs in the last 23 deliveries he faced. Despite playing the full 20 overs, LSG did not manage to hit a single boundary after the 13th over. Following the defeat, the LSG captain admitted that he was unsure how his team lost the game.
He said, “I don’t know how it happened, but it has happened. I can’t put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost 2 points today, this is cricket.” KL Rahul clarified that he had not planned to take the game deep, “We were well ahead in the game and I wasn’t really trying to bat deep.”
Venkatesh Prasad, the former India fast bowler, expressed his disappointment with KL Rahul’s performance on Twitter. He did not hold back his criticism, stating that “Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting.”
Prasad has been vocal in his criticism of Rahul in recent times, including his selection in the Indian Test team before being removed as vice-captain and dropped from the squad.
After the defeat, Lucknow Super Giants missed an opportunity to go to the top of the table, and they remain second with eight points in seven games. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans have climbed up to fourth place on the table with eight points in six games.
Gujarat will play their next match against the Mumbai Indians at their home ground in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Lucknow, on the other hand, will play their next match against Punjab Kings away from home in Mohali on April 28.
Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few ocassions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) April 22, 2023
