Former India bowler Venkatesh Prasad lambasted the underperforming Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul, who played one of the most bizarre knocks of the Indian Premier League 2023. KL Rahul-led side collapsed in the final six overs failing to score 30 runs for the last six overs with eight wickets in the hand.
Prasad has been very vocal in his criticism of KL Rahul, who has been awfully out of form for quite some time now, especially in International Cricket. The former fast-bowler has taken to Twitter to criticize Rahul on numerous occasions in recent times. LSG skipper scored 68 off 61 balls before being dismissed in the final over by Mohit Sharma.
Venkatesh Prasad was upset by KL Rahul’s knock after their 7-run loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2023 on April 22, 2023, in Ekana Stadium, Lucknow.
“Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few ocassions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko,” he tweeted.
Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few ocassions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) April 22, 2023
Cricket Pundits and many cricket fans expressed their displeasure over KL Rahul’s innings against the defending champions. The Indian opener struggled to get going against the Gujarat Titans on Saturday. The 31-year-old was often criticized for his strike rate and his ability to play to finish the innings. Here are a few IPL innings tweets on Rahul’s Struggling innings.
Ufff , how could you lose that.
Brilliant from Gujarat. Outstanding bowling and captaincy to defend that . #LSGvGT— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 22, 2023
What a game @gujarat_titans captain @hardikpandya7 and #mohitsharma star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Good to see Mohit doing so well . Khush tho bhut honge aaj NEHRA Ji . Muskuriye kyuki aap Lakhnow mai hai ?
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 22, 2023
Gautam Gambhir played 50+ balls in an IPL innings and his team lost only ONCE
KL Rahul has played 50+ balls 26 times and lost 12 times!! #LSGvsGT pic.twitter.com/J1ct8qitHx
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) April 22, 2023
KL Rahul plays T20 like its ODI.
KL Rahul plays ODI like its Test Match.
And KL Rahul doesn't know how to play in a Test Match.
Legend for a reason. ?? pic.twitter.com/b5k9BXaCkJ
— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) April 22, 2023
The 2023 season has been a moderate start for LSG Skipper as he scored 262 runs from 7 matches at the poorest strike rate of 113.91. The Karnataka batter holds a poor strike rate among the top 30 scorers in the IPL 2023.
I Don’t Know How It Happened – KL Rahul On Their Loss Against Gujarat Titans
“I don’t know how it happened, but it has happened. I can’t put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost 2 points today, this is cricket.
“We were well ahead in the game and I wasn’t trying to bat deep, I still wanted to play my shots and take on the bowlers, but they bowled well in that 2-3 over period by Noor and Jayant. We perhaps should have taken a few more chances with wickets in hand,” KL Rahul said.
Lucknow Super Giants should have taken their chances in the early stage of the game as they had eight wickets but the batters could not accelerate with KL Rahul slowed down after scoring a fighting half-century against the Gujarat Titans. Lucknow Super Giants would look to rectify their mistakes when their take on Punjab Kings On April 28.