Lucknow Super Giants registered their lowest score of the season as they were skittled out for a total of 82 against Gujarat Titans at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The KL Rahul-led side eventually lost the match by 62 runs. Following the defeat to table-toppers GT, LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir came down hard on the players in the dressing room, saying that that while losing is okay, giving up is unacceptable. Stating that LSG lacked the game sense, the two-time IPL-winning captain said there is no place for being weak in a competition like the IPL. “There is nothing wrong in losing. It is absolutely fine. One team has to win one team has to lose.
But there is a lot wrong in giving up. Today I thought that we gave up and were weak,” Gambhir said in a video uploaded by LSG on their official Instagram handle. And honestly, there is no place for being weak in a tournament like the IPL or in sport. That is where the problem is. LSG are already in the Play-Offs but they would love to in the Top-Two for a better place at winning IPL 2022. Rashid Khan was impressive with the ball as Gujarat Titans restricted Lucknow to only 82 runs and become the first team to qualify.
Wriddhiman Saha succeeded in getting out. He had just nearly shovelled out a return catch to the bowler Mohsin Khan, who was in the midst of yet another impressive spell, but Khan collapsed while trying to turn back. The ball had popped behind him, not too far, but when he tried to turn on his follow-through he twisted his ankle and collapsed. Luckily, he wasn’t injured. It was a slower one that had foxed Saha, and he rolled his finger on the ball pretty late in the piece and that perhaps threw off Saha. LSG team didn’t bat well, as the target was less to chase.
Deepak Hooda plays this unusual back-foot punch wherein he rides the bounce on short deliveries, arches further inside the line and slams the ball flat in the air through point or backward point. He doesn’t even need width, and sometimes has both feet airborne when bat meets ball. Usually batsmen tend to go in front of square, even if only slightly, when playing the back-foot punch. LSG team has a fair chance of finishing in the top two place. They have played a good cricket in this IPL.
Ajinkya Rahane does that, so does Aiden Markram, a predominant back-foot batsman. Some teams have tried to prevent Hooda from playing that stroke this IPL with a short point on the square, about halfway in from the regulation point position. Delhi Capitals did that, and successfully shut off that route, but Hooda was good enough to force another scoring zone through extra cover in that game. Gujarat Titans did not have the close fielder in place when Alzarri Joseph came on just after the powerplay.
On a Pune pitch where most found it hard to time the ball, Hooda rose even as Joseph’s first delivery reared up outside off, and punched his square-hit horizontal for a much-needed boundary for Lucknow Super Giants(LSG). Gujarat Titans has celebrated the victory of qualifying in the Play-Offs and we are witnessing the same things as 2016 Indian Premiere League Season. Life seems to have come full circle for Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul. Just a few years ago, their careers had hit a roadblock due to some off- colour remarks – deemed offensive and sexist – on a television chat show.
The duo was suspended for a while with some quarters of the cricket board – the Committee of Administrators was in charge then – wanting sterner punishment. Both the Players have guided their team brilliantly and have reached the Play-Offs.
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