KL Rahul provides fresh update on Mayank Yadav and blames Nicholas Pooran for loss to DC

The KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) locked horns with the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 26th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Friday, April 12.

Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and opted to bat first in the match. They made a forced change to the playing XI as Mayank Yadav was unfit and was replaced by Arshad Khan. Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, received a huge boost with the return of Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar. The Rishabh Pant & Co. also handed the debut cap to the youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk.

Batting first, Lucknow Super Giants were extremely poor with the bat and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The batters were unable to deal with the threat of Khaleel Ahmed and returning Kuldeep Yadav.

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Quinton de Kock (19), Devdutt Padikkal (3), Marcus Stoinis (8), and Nicholas Pooran (0) failed miserably and allowed the Delhi Capitals to take control of the match.

LSG skipper KL Rahul was the one batter from the top order who showed some fight and contributed a significant 39 runs. After a batting flop show, the home team was forced to bring in Deepak Hooda as an impact player, but he too failed as he scored just 10 runs.

In the end, Ayush Badoni showed batting brilliance and stitched up an excellent 73-run partnership with Arshad Khan, which was the highest 8th-wicket partnership in IPL history. LSG ended up posting 167/7 on the board.

Chasing the target in the match, David Warner got out in an unfortunate manner, but his opening partner Prithvi Shaw did an absolutely wonderful job by scoring 32 runs.

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Rishabh Pant followed it up with 55 and 41 runs respectively to bring Delhi Capitals (DC) close to the win while the rest of the job was done by Shai Hope and Tristan Stubbs as DC defeated LSG by 6 wickets.

If I want to be harsh, I think we were 15-20 runs short - KL Rahul

At the post-match presentation ceremony, the LSG skipper KL Rahul said that they were 15-20 runs short and credited the DC spinner Kuldeep Yadav for doing a brilliant job in the match. KL Rahul also lauded the Delhi Capitals debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk for a stunning batting show. KL Rahul stated:

"If I want to be harsh, I think we were 15-20 runs short, we got off to a good start, we could have capitalized and got 180. There was a bit of help for the seamers, the odd ball kept low. Kuldeep made its use (and got those wickets.) The new guys when they come in, it's pretty unknown for us. He (Jake Fraser-McGurk) hit the ball well, credit to him. We always walk in with the same mindset, want to hit the right areas."

KL Rahul added that they were successful in removing David Warner in the powerplay but the partnership between Pant and McGurk took the game away from them. KL Rahul asserted:

"We got Warner in the powerplay, got a couple of wickets after the powerplay. The set batters - Pant and McGurk took the game away from us after that dropped catch. We travel tomorrow and play an afternoon game (on Sunday). That's how the schedule goes, need to turn up, could be tough during Indian summers."

KL Rahul further took shots at Nicholas Pooran, who fell for a golden duck to Kuldeep Yadav in the match, and said that the explosive batter could have put pressure on the opposition team. KL Rahul said:

"In hindsight, you can always wonder you could have done something different. There wasn't much spin after Axar's over, so I thought Pooran could have put some pressure on the opposition, if he was set. He would have been dangerous, but credit to Kuldeep for getting him out."

In the end, KL Rahul provided an update on the pace-bowling sensation Mayank Yadav, saying that the pacer is feeling good enough to go but they want to be cautious. KL Rahul stated:

"He (Mayank Yadav) is feeling good, he looks good, but we don't want to rush him. We need to protect his body, he's itching to go. Need to make sure that he's hundred percent (fit) before he comes back."