'If this doesn't wake KL Rahul, I don't know what will' - Mitchell McClenaghan dissects LSG captain's horrific outing against SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) set the Uppal Stadium on fire as they thwarted Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Wednesday, May 8. LSG were off to a dismal start after winning the toss and opting to bat first. They could muster a mere 27 runs in the powerplay. LSG’s captain, KL Rahul was under scrutiny for his slow knock and capitulation in the crunch situation. Mitchell McClenaghan has dissected Rahul’s drawback in failing to cater to the demands of modern T20 cricket.

The LSG opener scored an arduous 29 runs in 33 balls and the team never recovered fully after he holed out to T Natarajan off Pat Cummins. In contrast, the SRH openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma seemed batting on different trach and posted 107 in the powerplay. McClenaghan asserted that there was a need for intent from the LSG’s wicketkeeper batter.

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"If this doesn't wake KL up to the style of cricket he needs to play going forward to be successful and to continue playing for India, I don't know what will. He can do it. He has got to get past, very similar to what we've seen with Virat (Kohli), the feeling of' You're the only person that can score runs'. And he's got to go, right, I need to score runs but if I am going to miss out, it's okay,” said McClenagahn as quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

I think it's a blow that knocks LSG out of the tournament: McClenaghan

Lucknow Super Giants are one of those franchises who have a fair chance to contest for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2024. After the loss against SRH, their path has many obstacles as their Net Run Rate (NRR) has taken a severe hit. Talking about the NRR, SRH chased down the 167-run target within the 10^th over and handed Lucknow a heartbreak to remember. McClenaghan highlighted that the team has taken a blow that will potentially rule them out of the tournament.

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"I think it's a blow that knocks them out of the tournament. I think they will do very very well to recuperate from this defeat. I guess the proof will be how they structure their team next year to be competitive in the new age of T20 cricket and IPL," he added.