'LSG coaches should have communicated with the batters and made proper plan' - Imran Tahir after LSG's loss against RCB

Former South Africa spinner Imran Tahir slammed Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) coaches following their defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the low-scoring encounter in the IPL 2023. On Monday, May 1, the Faf du Plessis-led side defeated LSG by 18 runs at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.

RCB scored 126 runs in 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Meanwhile, LSG failed to chase down 127 runs as they were bundled out by 108 runs with one ball remaining. In particular, no batter scored 30-plus runs while chasing the below-par score.

While speaking on Star Sports, Tahir said that LSG coaches should ought to share the responsibility for their loss alongside the players. The 44-year-old stated that everyone was aware that skipper KL Rahul was injured and would not bat in the top order. He added that knowing this, the batters should have taken responsibility and the coaches should have communicated with them and devised a proper plan. 

"Everyone knew that KL Rahul was injured and that he wouldn't bat. So their batters should have taken the responsibility and the coaches should have communicated with them and made a proper plan," Tahir said.

According to the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player, LSG batters got out trying to play their shots, despite knowing how difficult it was to play across the line in Lucknow. He felt that the directive to play their shots must have come from LSG management, which he deemed as a major error. He then mentioned Du Plessis' approach, claiming that he focused mostly on singles and normally he is not like that. 

"This is their home ground. What amazed me is that everyone went in and tried to play shots. I don't think those shots were required. You had seen Faf du Plessis, who concentrated primarily on singles and he is not like that. Normally he is an aggressive player, he is a player who goes and plays his shots," he added.

I believe RCB looked more hungry in this game: Tahir

Tahir subsequently praised RCB for their performance in the LSG’s innings. He stated that their bowlers bowled according to the pitch and they effectively employed their spinners. He added that the fast bowlers used the slower ones and mentioned that Josh Hazlewood earned good bounce.

"I believe RCB looked more hungry in this game. The way their bowlers bowled was according to the pitch and they used their spinners very well. The fast bowlers used the slower ones and Josh Hazlewood got a good bounce," he concluded.