Lucknow Super Giants suffered a 56-run defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match on Sunday, with questions being raised over the team's captain and coach. Chasing a mammoth target of 228 runs, the start LSG had was a decent one, with the team putting up 114 runs on the board for the lost of just one wicket in 12.1 overs. However, the pace of scoring runs went down quickly, with Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni all failing to put big runs on the board. After the match, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag minced no words as he questioned the LSG team management, including coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Krunal Pandya's decision-making over the batting order in the match.
"They were 102/1 after 10 overs. They shouldn't have lost with this much of a margin after that. After that first wicket, I believe an in-form batter should've come; it could be Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya himself, or Ayush Badoni, who scored some very quick runs in the previous game against Chennai. And who came? Hooda?" Sehwag said in a chat with Manoj Tiwary on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag feels LSG erred when it comes to chosing the right batting order, chasing a huge target of over 200 runs. For the retired opening batter, Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni should've come higher up to bat since the chase was a stiff one.
"They lost that match at that moment. It was a blunder from LSG. If Nicholas Pooran had come there, the way he plays, he could've probably scored a 20-ball 50 and changed the game. If you need 100 runs in five overs, you are not going to win."
"Ayush Badoni scored 21 off 11 balls. If he had arrived at the time, he could've increased the pace of scoring as well. Whose decision was that? Captain? Coach? or the management? Who sent Hooda at 3? It should've been an in-form batter there," Sehwag said.
In the absence of KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya has been given the team's baton. But, the latter doesn't have much captaincy experience at this level. Though Lucknow are still third in the points table with 5 wins, 5 losses and 1 No-result to their name, Krunal would need to up his captaincy game if the franchise is to qualify for the playoffs.