North India Statesman
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Mumbai, 18 May (HS). After the win against Mumbai Indians in their last match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul on Friday said that he is disappointed with the team's overall performance in this edition of the league.
Despite explosive innings from Rohit Sharma and Naman Dheer, Mumbai lost by 18 runs against LSG in the IPL 2024 match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul insisted that at the start of the current season, he really felt that LSG had a strong squad, with most of the bases covered. He further said that the Lucknow franchise also faced a lot of injuries in the ongoing 17th edition of the cash-rich league.
Rahul said in the presentation after the match, “Very disappointing. At the beginning of the season, I really thought we had a strong team and had most of the bases covered. Some injuries – every team has them. We could not play well collectively. We did really well against Mumbai, it's the kind of game we wanted to play more of. Unfortunately, we didn't do that. What is really heartening is that the franchise has invested a lot of time and energy with the Indian fast bowlers. These are not just two months in a year. We sent Mayank and Yudhveer to South Africa to train with Morne Morkel. Their hard work has paid off.”
The 32-year-old further said that he has learned a lot about his batting this season and he knows what he needs to do to get back into the Indian team.
He said, “There is not going to be much T20 cricket right now. It has been a season where I have learned a lot about my batting and I know what needs to be done to get back into the team. We ideally wanted him (Pooran) to bat up top, but considering the team situation, we want our senior international players to bat in positions where they can withstand the pressure. Didn't want our two foreign batsmen to bat together. I am now in my father-in-law's team. “We both will cheer for Sharma ji’s son in the World Cup.”
Talking about the match, in this match LSG batted first and won 20 overs thanks to the excellent half-centuries of Nicholas Pooran (29 balls, 75 runs, 5 fours, 8 sixes) and KL Rahul (41 balls, 55 runs, 3 fours, 3 sixes). Scored 214 runs for 6 wickets.
In reply, Mumbai team could score only 196 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs and lost the match by 18 runs. For Mumbai, Rohit Sharma (68 runs from 38 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) and Naman Dhir (62 runs not out from 28 balls, 4 fours and 5 sixes) scored brilliant half-centuries.
