A loss to start the IPL 2024 season for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). While Sanju Samson and Trent Boult played a major role in handing LSG a 20-run defeat, did KL Rahul also play a major factor in their downfall? Their skipper scored a half-century in the first match, but was that inning a match-losing one?
As usual, Rahul started slow in the powerplay. But this time he had a reason to do so. LSG lost three wickets in just 2.2 overs, and so he went into a shell to stop any further damage. But it seemed like he couldn’t come out of it.
At one point, he was at a run-a-ball 25. In a chase of 194, batting at a strike rate of 100 is nothing short of criminal. He eventually ended with a 131.82 strike rate, but his slow pacing forced the other batters to go at a faster click. Their No. 7 batter, Nicholas Pooran, in contrast, played at a 156 strike rate and scored more runs than him.
Currently in contention to make the T20 World Cup 2024, one has to question the opener’s intent. Going against Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill for the opening spot, one has to wonder: is KL Rahul doing himself a favor by batting at the pace at which he is right now?
Feels good to score, but not satisfied: KL Rahul
After the match, Rahul expressed that while it’s good to score runs on his return to the IPL, after missing the second half of the last season, he won’t be satisfied until LSG starts to win. In the post-match interview, he said:
“Powerplay is crucial for every team, and I don’t think any team has cracked it yet. We’ll learn from the small mistakes we made. When we are three [down] for nothing and we give ourselves a chance of chasing 194 speaks of our line-up… We need to find ways to win games of cricket. We’ll try to build from here and see where we can get stronger. When you get runs, you always feel good. But it’s important for us to end up on the winning side. That gives more satisfaction. Missing a season was really painful.“
