LSG vs RCB: Ravi Shastri Questions KL Rahul's Approach To 208 Chase After LSG Crash Out

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday addressed KL Rahul’s methodology in Lucknow Super Giants’  (LSG) fruitless pursuit of 208 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2022 Eliminator.

Rahul hit 78 yet he took 59 balls and was unable to finish the game for Lucknow who crashed out of the competition after their 14-run rout at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KL Rahul’s approach in the middle overs during the pursuit against RCB left a significant number puzzled.

Middle Over Boundary Drought For LSG

KL Rahul dashed to a decent beginning as he assisted Lucknow by posting 62 in the powerplay, hitting 26 off 17 balls in the said period. Notwithstanding, Rahul kept himself down and hit just a single boundary in the following 7 overs as the asking rate was shooting up.

LSG oversaw only 49 runs between overs 7 and 13 and the strain of the asking rate negatively affected them.

Hooda needed to do the main part of the enormous hitting and he did so, however, fell for 45 off 26 in the fifteenth over. Rahul assumed the onus of scoring fast after Hooda’s exit yet the LSG commander was unable to finish the match for his side.

Rahul was excused in the nineteenth over for 79 from 58 balls by Josh Hazlewood as RCB held their nerves and confined LSG to 193/6 of 20 overs.

LSG Should Have Taken More Chances: Ravi Shastri

“They should have gone a little earlier. Sometimes, you wait too long but here, between the 9th and the 14th over, they should have been someone who should have been targeted, especially in that partnership,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.

“When Hooda and Rahul were going, I think even though he did as well as he did, KL could have taken a little more chances because Hooda was going. Take a little more chances and he could have targetted someone between the 9th and the 13th over because Harshal was going to come back in the end.

“If they had got the required rate down at the stage, that would have made RCB a little nervous.”

Rahul’s thump was completely different from Rajat Patidar’s as the RCB hitter didn’t avoid taking risks, crushing 112 not out in only 54 balls.

KL Rahul Defends LSG’s Approach

Strikingly, Rahul safeguarded LSG’s approach, saying it was difficult to raise a run rate and hit bowlers out on consistent intervals in the middle overs. The LSG skipper praised Harshal Patel’s endeavours in the middle overs and at the death.

Harshal wrapped up with figures of 1/25 that had become the difference between the two sides. The medium-pacer offered only 9 runs in his first two overs, bowling the tenth and the twelfth over, and finished off the match brilliantly well at the death.

“In the middle, I think Harshal’s (Patel) two in the middle I think pushed us back a little bit because he went of 7 or 8 runs. He didn’t give away much and he really changed the pace when he bowled to the field and that’s where we were pushed back a little bit,” Rahul told the press on Thursday.

“Like I said, it was just 2 hits away and if we couldn’t that in the middle overs, probably we would have won this game.”

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