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Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden criticized the Lucknow Super Giants' batters for their lack of aggressive intent during a recent match against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). Hayden stated that the Lucknow Super Giants' batters should have aimed for a high score while batting first.

The Super Giants scored 165/4 after winning the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Wednesday, May 8. Ayush Badoni (55*) and Nicholas Pooran (47*) added an unbeaten 99 runs off 52 balls for the fifth wicket. Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down the target with 10 wickets in hand in just 9.1 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar made early breakthroughs by dismissing Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis inside the powerplay. The visiting team managed to score just 27 runs for the loss of two wickets in the first six overs. Skipper KL Rahul failed to accelerate as he was dismissed for 29 runs off 33 balls.

Somebody Needed To Show Intent - Matthew Hayden

During the match, Matthew Hayden, who was on commentary, criticized the Lucknow Super Giants' top order due to their sluggish run-scoring rate in the batting power play. Hayden emphasized the need for more aggressive intent, stating that their slow powerplay hindered the team's progress.

"I have to call them out. This is not a 5 runs per over wicket. Somebody needed to show intent. They had one of the slowest powerplays. That took the innings nowhere. When the opposition team has Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, your intention should be to go at 10s and over. 160-170 will never be enough," Hayden said in commentary.

Lowest Powerplay totals in IPL 2024

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma added a 166-run stand in just 9.4 overs, setting a new record for the highest score by any team in 10 overs in IPL history. Head scored an unbeaten 89 off just 30 balls, including eight fours and six sixes. Abhishek scored 75* off 28 balls, featuring eight fours and six sixes.

SRH moved to the third position in the standings with 14 points from 12 games. LSG is in the sixth spot with 12 points from an equal number of matches. The Pat Cummins-led team enhanced their playoff prospects, while LSG must win their remaining two matches to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

I Am Lost For Words - KL Rahul

In a post-match interview, KL Rahul stated that he was at a loss for words after the opposition's batting performance. Rahul highlighted that the SRH openers showed an aggressive approach right from the start without giving a chance.

"I am lost for words. We have watched that batting on TV, but that was unreal. They didn't give a chance to see what the wicket was playing like, it didn't change much, but that mindset and freedom to tee off from ball one... the only way to stop them was wickets in the powerplay and we didn't do that," Rahul said.

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