KL Rahul likes to limit himself while batting, said Aakash Chopra. The Lucknow captain played slowly when Lucknow lost badly to Hyderabad. Rahul opened the batting but did not score runs quickly.
Rahul hit 29 runs from 33 balls. LSG set a target of 166 runs for SRH in Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 8. Then, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma put together an unbroken 167-run opening partnership. They did it quickly, in just 9.4 overs. This led SRH to an easy win.
In a video posted to his YouTube account, Aakash Chopra reflected on the Lucknow Super Giants’ batting, stating that they moved at a snail’s pace, with Rahul and Krunal Pandya unable to provide the necessary push following the dismissals of Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis.
“There couldn’t have been a slower local than this because you scored only 27 runs in the first six overs. First Quinton de Kock and then Marcus Stoinis got out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets this time as well. The wagon wasn’t moving from both ends. Basically, it was a traffic jam.”
“Krunal Pandya came to bat and scored 24 runs off 21 balls. KL Rahul scored 29 runs off 33 balls. He always stops himself. He hit a six in front of the wickets off Pat Cummins’ bowling but after that, the wagon didn’t move at all, and then when he tried to hit once, he was caught in the deep. So nothing happened there as well.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra believed that LSG were almost out of the game due to their extraordinarily sluggish batting in the first half of their innings.
“You cannot score 27 runs in six overs. It’s not something you can make the game with because firstly, you have a team with such a strong batting lineup in front of you, and secondly, 27 runs in six overs is slightly unacceptable these days. After that, only 57 runs were scored in the first 10 overs and three wickets were lost.”
Aakash Chopra
The dismissals of De Kock and Stoinis reduced LSG to 21/2 after 4.2 overs. KL Rahul and Kunal Pandya (24 off 21) then took 5.4 overs to post a 36-run third-wicket stand, putting the visitors in trouble.
“It was nothing to do with the pitch” – Aakash Chopra on LSG’s timid batting
Aakash Chopra stated that the Lucknow Super Giants’ sluggish attitude could not be ascribed to the pitch.
“When we were watching the first innings, we felt the pitch was slightly slow but neither were we seeing the right thing nor were they (LSG) understanding the right thing. It was nothing to do with the pitch. It was just the batting.”
Aakash Chopra
Still, the former player who now talks about cricket matches praised Nicholas Pooran (48 runs not out off 26 balls) and Ayush Badoni (55 runs not out off 30 balls) for helping their team reach a good score.
“Nicholas Pooran scored 48 runs and took the team to a respectable total. Ayush Badoni was there with him. He also scored 55 runs off 30 balls. Both of them hit a little in the end and took the team to 165, which, to be honest, didn’t seem possible. Genuinely, it felt like you would score 135 to 140.”
Aakash Chopra
Badoni joined Pooran in the middle as LSG were reduced to 66/4 after 11.2 overs following Krunal Pandya’s dismissal. The two put up an unbroken 99-run combination to propel their side to a fighting total that ultimately fell far short of expectations.