The Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) Indian Premier League (IPL) season ended at the Eliminator round after an 81-run loss against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday, May 24. Krunal Pandya and co. were bowled out for a poor 101 while chasing a win target of 183.
Following bad decision-making and challenges with flexibility, the batting unit became entangled in a web. While the conditions were difficult, LSG would have been more equipped and prepared if they had a clear batting order.
Fans were dissatisfied with the team’s decision-making throughout the run chase, particularly the batting order, which made no sense.
Since KL Rahul’s season-ending injury, their batting order, particularly their top three, has been continually chopped and modified.
While the batting order is subject to alter depending on the match scenario, LSG made the wrong decision on many times, resulting in the end of their season.
On that topic, here are three instances in IPL 2023 where LSG got their batting order incorrect.
1) LSG vs MI (M Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai)
As previously stated, LSG’s batting order fell apart during the high-pressure run chase against MI in the IPL 2023 Eliminator.
Kyle Mayers was brought in as the franchise’s impact player, while Prerak Mankad was the other opening batter.
With Krunal Pandya at No. 3 and Deepak Hooda at No. 7, it was an unorganised and complicated jumble from which they could never recover.
While LSG possessed depth in their batting unit, it was meaningless because it was not employed wisely.
Because of the frequent change, players are not bound to a particular role, which upsets their clarity and impairs their productivity, which was on display.
2) CSK vs LSG (M Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai)
LSG’s batting collapsed earlier against Chepauk, but it was a high-scoring match in which they were truly in the hunt.
LSG were cruising at one point after scoring 80 runs on the powerplay after being set a massive goal of 218.
However, bringing in an out-of-form Deepak Hooda at No.3 when the team needed to maintain the momentum from the early assault was a risky move.
CSK recovered despite losing two fast wickets, and the addition of Krunal Pandya at No.4 did not assist their cause.
The rapid dismissals left them at 105-4 at the midway point, which left a lot of work for the lower middle order, which carried the game at least deep.
3) LSG vs GT (Ekana Stadium, Lucknow)
LSG failed to chase down 136 at home against Gujarat Titans (GT) despite being comfortably positioned at 106-1 at one point in a match that would be remembered by fans for years to come.
Nicholas Pooran was promoted to No.4 to improve their net run rate. The Caribbean wicketkeeper, on the other hand, struggled on the sluggish wicket. Furthermore, bringing in Ayush Badoni rather than an in-form Marcus Stoinis did not assist their cause.
Pooran and Badoni were only able to score nine runs off 13 deliveries in the last overs, causing the needed rate to rise on the challenging surface. This, in turn, increased the pressure.
LSG seemed helpless in the end, falling seven runs short of the total after 20 overs
