LSG vs MI: "He said thoda dukh raha hai" - KL Rahul drops huge update on Mayank Yadav's fresh injury concern

KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) went head-to-head with the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 48th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Tuesday, April 30, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

The home team headed into the clash against the 5-time champions with a dominant head-to-head record as in the 4 matches between the teams LSG led by 3-1 against MI.

After joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022, Lucknow Super Giants faced off against Mumbai Indians twice in their debut season as well as in the 2023 season. In 2022, they thumped the Mumbai-based franchise by 18 and 36 runs on April 16 and 24. 

In both those matches, the LSG skipper slammed brilliant centuries and took his team to victories. First, he scored a 60-ball 103 and then he slammed a 62-ball 103, remaining unbeaten both times. When MI and LSG locked horns for the third time, KL Rahul was unavailable for the match, but Marcus Stoinis' sensational 89*-run knock helped LSG seal a 5-run win on May 16.

It was only in the 4th clash, that MI managed to win against LSG that too in a dominant manner by 81 runs in a high-voltage Eliminator of IPL 2023.

Our bowlers did well and put pressure on them - KL Rahul 

Talking about their IPL 2024 clash, LSG chose to bowl first in the match and picked wickets at regular intervals to reduce MI to 27/4 with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya back in the hut. LSG bowlers were troubled a bit by Nehal Wadhera (46) and Tim David (35), but in the end, they stopped MI to 144/7. Mohsin Khan picked up two wickets while Marcus Stoinis, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mayank Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi got one wicket each. Chasing the target, Marcus Stoinis (62) batted brilliantly and others supported him well as LSG won by 4 wickets. Now the head-to-head record between the teams stands at 4-1.

At the post-match presentation ceremony, KL Rahul said that the LSG bowlers put MI batters under pressure early on and didn't allow them to recover. KL Rahul elaborated:

"We still had batters in the middle. An experienced batter in Pooran and KP is seasoned as well. Was a bit dry. 165-170 would have made it a competitive game. It takes time to adjust to this wicket. Our bowlers did well and put pressure on them. Always happy when you get those two points. We need to gain momentum in the back end of the tournament and the momentum helps."

KL Rahul further provided a huge update on Mayank Yadav who left the field after bowling 3.1 overs and said that the pacer was having some issues with his sides. KL Rahul said:

"I haven't spoken to Mayank much. He had some pain in his sides. He said thoda dukh raha hai. So, I asked him to go out. He is useful to us. We need to take care of him. He bowled wide yorkers and slower bumpers today which was good to see. We are giving him a free hand."

LSG head coach Justin Langer also talked about Mayank Yadav and said that the pacer will undergo scans tomorrow. Langer said:

"Looks like he's sore in the same spot, his rehab's been absolutely perfect, he bowled pain-free in the last few week or so, he's looked in great condition. We'll have a scan and we'll find out tomorrow"