DC vs LSG: 'That's the reason we are...' - KL Rahul highlights LSG's biggest problem in IPL 2024

KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took on the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 64th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Tuesday, May 14, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

LSG won the toss and elected to field first in the match. The bowlers failed to prove the toss decision right and despite removing Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck, LSG ended up conceding 208 runs and only managed to pick 4 wickets. Naveen-ul-Haq bagged two wickets while Ravi Bishnoi and Arshad Khan got one wicket each.

With the bat, LSG were off to a terrible start as they lost 4 wickets for 44 runs. Nicholas Pooran then hit a sensational 27-ball 61 to keep his team in the game. After that, Arshad Khan took center stage and smashed a phenomenal fifty. However, other batters didn't support Arshad and LSG were restricted to 189/9, losing the match by 19 runs. 

Speaking after the match, KL Rahul said that the pitch remained the same throughout the innings and they restricted Delhi Capitals to a par score. He said:

"I feel the wicket remained the same throughout the 40 overs. When we got JFM out in the first over we should have capitalized, but they - Hope and Porel - showed a lot of intent."

KL Rahul reckoned that his team should have chased down the target and highlighted the biggest problem with LSG in IPL 2024, which is their powerplay batting. KL Rahul said:

"We did well at the back end and 200 was a par total, we should have chased it down. This has been a problem right through the season - we keep losing a lot of wickets in the powerplay, we never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in, that is the big reason why we are in this position."

Lucknow Super Giants' Current Position In IPL 2024 Points Table 

Ahead of the match against the Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants were at the seventh spot on the Indian Premier League 2024 points table. They had 12 points under their belt with a Net Run Rate of -0.769 as they won 6 and lost 6 out of 12 matches they played.

Lucknow Super Giants were placed just above three teams - Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Gujarat Titans - who were eliminated from the playoffs race. Notably, the Net Run Rate of the team was so poor because of the hammering they faced at the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match in Hyderabad. LSG had showcased poor batting and registered 165/4 on the board. Although the total looked decent, SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma made it look dwarf and completed the run-chase inside 9.4 overs.

Coming back to the current position of Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League 2024 standings after the Delhi Capitals clash, the KL Rahul-led side have remained at the same spot and have a Net Run Rate of -0.787.

Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on May 17, which will be their final league stage match in the ongoing edition of the competition.