Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir did not mince his words when he interacted with the players after the team’s crushing defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans on Tuesday (May 10). Lucknow had the chance to seal their spot in the playoffs with a win but failed to do well with the bat. The KL Rahul-led team did well to restrict Gujarat Titans to 144 for 4 but their performance with the bat let them down in the important clash.
Chasing 145, Lucknow kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually all out for a paltry 82 inside 14 overs. Only two players, Quinton de Kock (11) and Deepak Hooda (27) managed to register double-digit scores. For Gujarat, leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the star of the show with the ball. The Afghanistan superstar picked up 4 wickets while giving away just 24 runs. Debutant spinner Sai Kishore also had a good outing as he picked up two wickets for just 7 runs.
Gautam Gambhir’s moving speech:
Following the defeat, Gautam Gambhir addressed the players in the dressing room and pointed out the team’s mistake. The two-time IPL winning captain started by saying that there was nothing wrong with the defeat but giving up was. He admitted that Lucknow gave up in the match and were weak. All the players and the coaches were all ears, listening carefully as the former India batting superstar pointed out what went wrong for the team against Gujarat.
“See there is nothing wrong in losing. It’s absolutely fine. One team has to win, one team has to lose. But there is a lot wrong in giving me. Today I thought that we gave up. We were weak, and honestly, there is no place for being weak in a tournament like IPL or in sport. That is where the problem is. We have beaten teams in this competition and have played really good cricket. But today I thought that we probably lacked that game sense which is more important,” Gautam Gambhir said.
“We knew that they bowled well and we expect them to bowl well. It’s a world-class competition, you’re playing against international bowlers. And we want people to challenge us no doubt about it. That is what we play the sport for. We practice day in and day out because we want to be challenged,” he added.
Bhaisaab look at the faces. The fear. Baato se belt treatment.? pic.twitter.com/Bb0oL3b2lk
— Shubham (@golchiee) May 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Gujarat have become the first team to qualify for the playoffs this season. On the other hand, Lucknow are currently placed second and need at least one more win to seal their spot in the next round. They have two more games left in the league stage – against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders on May 15 and 18 respectively.