"Brainless": Venkatesh Prasad Blasts KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants After Shocking Loss Against Gujarat Titans

Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad was extremely critical of KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants after they were beaten by Gujarat Titans in a last-over thriller. LSG were off a brilliant start and with Rahul scoring another half-century, they looked all set to clinch the win. However, with 17 runs needed from the last over, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma produced a brilliant show of fast bowling as they could only manage to score 9 runs and lost four wickets in the final over. Rahul was guilty of slow batting as he slammed 50 off 33 balls but scored just 18 in the next 28 deliveries.

Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few ocassions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) April 22, 2023

“Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few occasions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko,” he tweeted.

Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma produced one of the best death-bowling performances in T20 cricket, which caused Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rahul's half-century to go in vain as Gujarat Titans (GT) clinched a seven-run win over the hosts in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

With this win, GT is in the fourth position in the points table with four wins and two losses and a total of eight points. LSG is at the second spot with four wins and three losses and a total of eight points.

In the chase of 136 runs, KL Rahul started off by playing another maiden over. But he went on a rampage from the third over, smashing Mohammed Shami for three successive fours and Rashid Khan for two straight boundaries in the fifth over. Kyle Mayers was the anchor on the other end, with KL acting as an accelerator.

LSG crossed the 50-run mark in 5.3 overs.

At the end of the powerplay, LSG was at 53/0 in six overs, with Rahul (30*) and Mayers (23*) unbeaten at the crease.

Rashid Khan gave GT the breakthrough, dismissing Mayers for 24 off 19 balls, with two fours and a six. LSG was at 55/1.

Rahul continued to accelerate well from the other hand, while Krunal Pandya took some time to settle.

Halfway through the innings, LSG was at 80/1, with Krunal (14*) and Hardik (42*) unbeaten at the crease.

Rahul brought up his 33rd IPL fifty in 38 balls.

LSG crossed the 100-run mark in 13.1 overs.

The duo brought up their fifty-run stand.

Noor Ahmed ended the 51-run stand between Rahul-Krunal, dismissing the latter for 23 off 23 balls, consisting of two fours and six. LSG was at 106/2 in 14.3 overs.

At the end of 15 overs, LSG was at 106/2, with Rahul (58*) and Nicholas Pooran (0*) unbeaten at the crease.

At the end of 16 overs, LSG was at 109/2 and needed 26 runs in the final four overs.

Following some great scores, Pooran got his second single-digit score as he was dismissed for just one run by Noor Ahmed, who got his second wicket. Skipper Hardik Pandya caught him, leaving LSG at 110/3 in 16.5 overs.

Mohit Sharma gave away six runs in the 18th over, leaving LSG to score 17 runs in the final two.

However, with his next over, Mohammed Shami gave away only five runs, leaving the hosts to get 12 in the final over.

Rahul lost his wicket to Mohit Sharma while attempting to clear the boundary, caught by Jayant Yadav. Rahul was dismissed for 68 off 61 balls with eight boundaries. LSG was at 126/4 in 19.2 overs and needed 10 in the final four balls. Mohit got Marcus Stoinis on the very next ball for a golden duck. LSG was reduced to 126/5 with ten runs to get in three balls.

Badoni was run out on the next ball for just eight runs, completing a team hat-trick. LSG sunk to 1276/6 in 19.4 overs, needing nine runs in two balls. Deepak Hooda was also run out for just one run, leaving LSG with eight runs to get on the final ball. The team got four wickets in four balls.

LSG finished their innings at 128/7 in their 20 overs, with Prerak Mankad and Ravi Bishnoi unbeaten at 0 each.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Venkatesh Prasad KL Rahul Lucknow Super Giants Gujarat Titans IPL 2023 Cricket