The dream run of Lucknow SuperGiants towards the play-off for IPL season 2024 hit a massive snag last night after they got defeated by Delhi Capitals despite clinging to a mathematical chance of qualification with 12 points under their name from 13 matches. Their path is incredibly narrow; even a victory against Mumbai Indians in their final match on Friday is not going to be enough, especially when Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Punjab Kings are all breathing down their necks.
Former cricketer of team India Mohammad Kaif was particularly critical of captain KL Rahul’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss, while highlighting the high scoring trend in the tournament. Kaif pointed out that teams batting first had won all four matches played at the venue this season.
Kaif said, “The numbers don’t lie.” Lucknow Supergiants did not use any data while chasing the target of more than 200 runs, which has been near impossible here. This year, in all four matches, the team batting first won all the matches. You win that ask and choose to field?
Kaif went on to call the toss decision the biggest mistake and raised concerns about the bowling attack of the Lucknow supergiants. He concluded by labeling their performance on the absolute flop show.
Kaif was not the only former cricketer to express his disappointment. Another former player of team India, Aakash Chopra, was critical of the batting display of Lucknow, not the captaincy choices of Rahul. He slammed the top-order collapse of the team, which saw them reeling at 44/4.
Only a half century from Nicholas Pooran, as he scored 61 runs from 27 balls, offered some hope to the team. openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock continued with their struggles as they scored only 5 and 12 runs, respectively. Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni were dismissed for ducks, further exposing the batting frailties at Lucknow.
Chopra asks on his YouTube channel, What kind of batting is this? De Kock is not timing the ball; Rahul gets out for 5; Stoinis gets stranded; what are they doing?”
While Lucknow managed to avoid an all-out collapse, their poor batting performance raises serious concerns, with the run rate potentially playing a crucial role in deciding the qualification in the playoffs for this season. Their final match against the Mumbai Indians is going to be a do-or-die situation for them.
