KL Rahul spells DOOM in Lucknow Super Giants flop show

He comes to open the innings and hangs around to save his own backside. Saturday was no different.

KL Rahul spells DOOM in Lucknow Super Giants flop show

KL Rahul

Watching Lucknow Super Giants collapse like a house of cards against Gujarat Titans on Saturday was a disaster that left IPL fans fuming. Call it vile or call it bile, the sense of outrage amongst fans at the pathetic cricket dished out by KL Rahul’s side has taken social media by storm.

These days, one does not wait to read till the next morning what is printed in newspapers. News and views are fast, lapped up like a Formula One car covering ground on a fast and flowing circuit. So, news of KL Rahul coming in for flak on social media is justified. Throughout this edition of the IPL, Rahul has been lucky in many ways. Even when he was not batting well and the Lucknow team was winning matches, his own blunders were getting camouflaged.

It’s a bit like that chameleon, you do not like to see it. And when it changes colors, the chameleon makes for ugly viewing. Rahul has changed many shades, in terms of batting, in terms of leadership, or the lack of it, and how he hides behind numbers. He may be still figuring in the IPL Orange Cap Race, with 262 runs in seven matches. These are figures which befuddle. For, his strike rate is a pathetic 113.91.

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KL Rahul should be made to sit out in the next match

KL Rahul spells DOOM in Lucknow Super Giants flop show
KL Rahul

After the Lucknow versus Gujarat match, the stats were revealed. Faf du Plessis, David Warner, and Virat Kohli are ahead in the Orange Cap race. Rahul has been the worst. He comes to open the innings and hangs around to save his own backside. Saturday was no different. Critics may say between the two captains, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, there was a race; similar to that of snails.

However, the big difference is, Pandya batted as the situation demanded and scored 66 off 50 balls. There were sixes as well as he anchored the Gujarat Titans innings. Yet, there were social media hammering for Pandya, earlier on. In the end, when Lucknow Super Giants crumbled like a high-story building under an earthquake of high Richter scale intensity, Rahul’s team was shamed. Just imagine, the last over was a tragic-comedy of sorts, where wickets fell as if the pitch was suddenly loaded with dynamite.

For the record, KL Rahul scored 68 off 61 balls the highlight being a measly strike rate of 111.48. How wickets fell in the last over is one thing, the reality is Rahul batted for his own self. If Lucknow fans could grab his collar, Rahul will be roughed up. This was like being mugged in daylight, not even offering resistance!

Results like these are part and parcel of the game. So easy to say these banal words. Hear what Rahul said: “I don’t know how it happened, but it has happened. I can’t put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost two points today, this is cricket,” said Rahul.

“I wasn’t really trying to bat deep, I still wanted to play my shots, take on the bowlers, but they bowled well in that 2-3 over period, by Noor and Jayant, we perhaps should have taken a few more chances with wickets in hand, they bowled decently,” added Rahul.

These kinds of comments are shameful excuses. Rahul failed Lucknow Super Giants and fans have every right to express their anger and frustration. If a team cannot chase 136 for victory, the captain (KL Rahul) should be made to sit out in the next match. What say, Lucknow fans?

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