The KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took on the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at home – Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow – in the 54th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 ( IPL 2024) on Sunday, May 5th.
With LSG opting to bowl first in the game, Sunil Narine (81) was poor as he took the bowlers to the cleaners and helped his team reach 235 for 6. For LSG, Naveen-ul-Haq took three wickets while Yash Thakur and Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets, and Yudhvir Singh bagged one wicket each.
Chasing the total, LSG put in a terrible batting performance and were bowled out for 137 in 16.1 overs. Only two players in Marcus Stoinis (36) and KL Rahul (25) broke the 20-run mark and LSG lost the match by 98 runs, marking Lucknow Super Giants’ worst defeat in history.
After the game, KL Rahul criticized his teammates and termed their performance poor in all three departments. KL Rahul said:
“A lot of runs had to be scored in the second innings. When you go for a big total, you try to play too hard and you end up losing wickets. Overall just a poor performance. We didn’t (hit ours). The performance was just poor with the bat, the ball and on the field overall.”
KL Rahul praised KKR players Sunil Narine and Phil Salt for their aggressive batting and said the LSG bowlers were unable to cope with the pressure of dealing with KKR openers. KL Rahul explained:
“Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, in the powerplay we saw how they bat and they put a lot of pressure on the opponent. Our young bowlers couldn’t handle that pressure and he hit some really good shots. That is. The way IPL is, you come up against really good players and then your character is tested. The wicket was really good, it felt like a pretty real wicket, there was a bit of bounce when bowling hard lengths and back lengths but nothing out of the ordinary and it didn’t seem like a really bad pitch, probably 20 or 30 runs over “We were above average and our batting performance was really bad, when you’re chasing with such a high score you’re under pressure, it’s always difficult.”
KL Rahul revealed that they prepare well and assess the conditions ahead of the matches, but poor execution cost them the game against KKR. KL Rahul explained:
“We prepare well in advance and talk about the opposition batsmen. We know our conditions here and we’re spending a bit of time talking to the bowlers and the batsmen to figure out what plans we need to come up with. “Once we get here, it’s all about execution and that’s the part where we’re flawed done, but the young group really…the sooner you learn, the better for the team.
KL Rahul admitted that they made some big mistakes in the game and said that they would try to put the defeat behind them and focus on the upcoming games.
“We made a few mistakes while facing batsmen like Sunil and anyone else who is powerful. This kind of intimidation puts pressure on our bowlers. That will be the topic of conversation once we get back in the locker room – change. “After this game, look at what we did wrong and try to get better. This is our last home game for us, so we are on the road for the next three games. It’s pretty clear if we want to make it to the top four, you have to win all four games. This gives us a little freedom to go out and be a little more fearless, a little more courageous to take on the game.
Lucknow Super Giants suffer a major setback
LSG have suffered a heavy defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League as they have all but lost their X-Factor Express pacer Mayank Yadav for the rest of the season and have little hope of his availability for the playoffs should they make it this far.
The 21-year-old pacer took the cricket world by storm after making his debut for LSG in IPL 2024 on March 30. In his first two games, Mayank Yadav bowled sensational lines and lengths at a consistent speed of 155 kmph, recording a combined record of 6 for 41 against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He also became the first player in IPL history to win the Player of the Match award in his first two matches.
After his success in the first two games, things went downhill for the Pacer as he threw just one over in the third game before leaving the field and then missed the next five games due to abdominal pain. Although he made a comeback against Mumbai Indians on April 30, the pacer left the field after 3.1 overs as he felt pain in his sides, KL Rahul revealed after the game.
Meanwhile, LSG head coach Justin Langer gave an update on Mayank Yadav during an interaction with the media and revealed that the pacer is all but ruled out of the IPL. “No, we’re praying that hopefully he can play in the playoffs, but I’m also a realist. It will probably be difficult for him to get up for the end of the tournament,” said Langer. “He was scanned. It has a small tear in a similar spot to last time. So it’s very unfortunate,” he added.