'Stupid Cricket' - LSG skipper KL Rahul slams batters despite 20-run win over PBKS

Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul didn’t seem a happy man despite his side’s 20-run triumph over Punjab Kings on Friday (April 29). Despite getting a good start, the Super Giants could only post 153/8 in their allotted 20 overs and seemed on the backfoot at the halfway mark. Fortunately for them, the bowlers came to the party and took the Lucknow-based side over the line.

As this was Lucknow’s sixth win in nine games, they move a step closer to an official place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 playoffs. While Rahul was pleased with the overall outcome, he lashed out at his batters for playing ‘stupid cricket’ while batting first. Rahul, who himself scored six off 11 balls, wasn’t happy with his batters not capitalizing on the start.

“I was disappointed and fuming at the end of the first innings: KL Rahul

For the unversed, LSG were 98/1 at one stage and then lost five wickets inside 13 runs. Hence, Rahul reckons his side would have posted 180-190 had the other batters contributed well. “I was disappointed and fuming at the end of the first innings. Stupid cricket with the bat,” said Rahul after the game.

“We need to get better with the bat. Half-time, when Quinny (Quinton de Kock) and Deepak (Hooda) were batting. They paced it really really well to get to 60 in 9 overs on a tricky wicket. Had we batted smartly, we could have gotten to 180-190,” he added. Rahul also went on to praise his bowlers for defending such a low total pretty comfortably.

“I think we just need to be smarter in reading the game. If we could have not played too many shots we could have done better. We have been good on the field and good with the ball. Just need to keep repeating the good things. The way we responded with the ball was phenomenal. Krunal (Pandya) has been brilliant throughout the tournament. This season he has really worked on his bowling,” asserted Rahul.