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IPL 2022: Two big hits in the middle overs could have got Lucknow over the line, says KL Rahul

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3 years ago

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Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul conceded that the result of the IPL 2022 Eliminator match against Royal Challengers Bangalore could have been in their favour if they had ‘”two big hits’ in the middle overs. Chasing 208, Lucknow had Rahul (79 off 58 balls) and Deepak Hooda (45 off 26 balls) partnering for a 96-run stand for the second wicket.

But Bangalore came back hard, on the back of excellent bowling in the backend from Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel, to win the match by 14 runs and set up a Qualifier 2 clash with Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad on Friday. Though Lucknow had 81/1 in their middle overs, many felt that the acceleration coming with the last seven overs in the match was too late.

“This season has been like every other season – a good learning. As a team, it has been a challenging season, a good season. We learnt a lot. Now looking back, yes, it is just about two big hits in the middle overs and that could have gotten us over the line,” said Rahul in the post-match virtual press conference.

“It’s not that we didn’t try to hit those fours or sixes, we were trying but I think in the middle they bowled really well. Harshal Patel’s two overs pushed us back a little. He gave away just seven or eight runs, he really changed his pace well. He bowled to the field and that pushed us back a little bit,” added Rahul.

Dropping three catches in four overs, of Dinesh Karthik on four, and of Rajat Patidar on 72 and 93 proved to be fatal for Lucknow as Bangalore smacked a whopping 84 runs off the last five overs, with Patidar racing to a sensational 49-ball century. Rahul admitted that the dropped chances by Lucknow in a match of fine margins came back to hit them hard.

“It is hard to pinpoint one thing. Skills-wise, you can have a bad day and can go wrong with your execution with bat and ball. Something that has let us down badly in this game is our fielding. We dropped some easy catches. I dropped DK (Dinesh Karthik) when he was batting, probably in single digits”

“(Rajat) Patidar was dropped when he was batting on 60 or 70. Dropping them cost us that extra 30-40 runs. We fought really hard and tried our best to chase down the target. But we were just two hits away and had we gotten those in the middle overs, probably we would have won this game.”

In IPL 2022, Rahul’s average while batting first was 85 while his average while batting second was just 27.28 (pushed after 79 in Eliminator). Rahul acknowledged that doing better in the second innings with the bat will be a point of improvement for Lucknow in the 2023 IPL.

“I did focus on my stats that this season I didn’t score many runs in the second innings. But this was a big game and when you come to a big game, you forget whatever you did in the last 14 games. You try to play this game as a fresh game and you try to give your best. I tried the same even today.”

“I didn’t score too many runs in the second innings this season but in other seasons I have really done well, and I enjoy chasing. Sometimes you are not as successful. But it’s a team game and the team has really stepped up even when we were chasing. We won a few games but generally overall in this season, we didn’t do well while chasing, so it’s something we need to learn.”

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IPL 2025: When and where to watch LSG vs PBKS, head-to-head record

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14 hours ago

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April 1, 2025

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Lucknow, April 1: Lucknow Super Giants will host the Punjab Kings at the the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday in match 13 of the 2025 Indian Premier League campaign.

Led by captain Rishabh Pant, the Super Giants will head into the game brimming with confidence after they defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by five wickets at their home ground.

Having opened their account in IPL 2025, LSG will be looking to continue the winning momentum against the Kings at home.

Punjab Kings began their IPL 2025 campaign with a 11-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.

The Kings’ top order includes wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, opener Priyansh Arya and newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer. The likes of Azmatullah Omarzai, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh are expected to feature in their middle order. In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijaykumar Vyshak are their key options. Their opening game win against GT was an overall solid performance where Arya and Iyer set the foundation in the first innings and clutch death bowling by Vyshak secured the win

LSG vs PBKS head-to-head record in IPL

LSG have a superior head-to-head record against Punjab Kings in the IPL, having won three of the four matches.

The last time the two sides met, the former registered a 21-run home victory over the Kings in March 2024

Live Streaming details

Venue: The match will take place at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

When: April 1, 7:30 PM IST

Livestream: The clash between Lucknow and Punjab will be live-streamed on JioHotstar app and website

Broadcast: Star Sports Network

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, RS Hangargekar, Akash Maharaj Singh, Avesh Khan, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni

Punjab Kings: Josh Inglis(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas lyer(c), Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash

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IPL 2025: KL Rahul rejoins Delhi Capitals squad ahead of SRH clash

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3 days ago

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March 29, 2025

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New Delhi, March 29: India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul joined the Delhi Capitals squad in Visakhapatnam on Saturday ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season on Sunday.

Rahul missed the DC’s season opener against Lucknow Super Giants last week due to the birth of his first child with actor wife Athiya Shetty. The couple welcomed a baby girl on March 24.

Taking to X, Delhi Capitals shared the video of Rahul’s arrival and wrote, “You’re loved. You’re ours. You’re home. Welcome to Dilli, KLR.”

In another post, the franchise shared a picture of Rahul in DC’s training jersey and captioned the post, “Let the games begin.”

Rahul is expected to make his Delhi debut in Visakhapatnam on Sunday against Sunrisers Hyderabad after being acquired by the franchise for Rs 14 crore in last year’s mega auction.

The Axar Patel-led side started the tournament on a winning note with a thrilling one-wicket win over Rahul’s former franchise Lucknow. Ashutosh Sharma smashed a 31-ball 66 not out to snatch victory from Lucknow’s jaw with a blistering knock studded with five sixes and as many fours.

After the match, Delhi players congratulated Rahul on becoming the new father by doing a ‘Mother’s Lap Baby Swing’ action.

On his move to Delhi, Rahul termed it both exciting and nerve-wracking for him after last year’s auction.

“This is a new experience for me – joining my fourth or fifth IPL franchise. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking. Every new team brings uncertainties – how the players will gel, how the management operates, and how the fans will react. But looking at our squad and how the management has built this team, we seem to have most areas covered,” said Rahul.

“There’s a great mix of seasoned players and young talent. I am eager to play alongside some incredibly skilled youngsters and learn from them as well. With players like Mitchell Starc, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav -many of whom I’ve played with before – we have a solid squad. I can’t wait for the IPL to begin.”

In 132 IPL matches, Rahul has amassed 4,683 runs at an average of 45.47. He has also scored four centuries and 37 fifties in the tournament so far after making his debut in 2013.

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IPL 2025: Dhoni should have batted ahead of Ashwin, says Watson

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4 days ago

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March 29, 2025

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New Delhi, March 29: Former Australia opener Shane Watson feels that MS Dhoni should have batted ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin in Chennai Super Kings’ 197 chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk on Friday

Despite Dhoni’s late 16-ball 30 not out cameo CSK suffered a heavy 50-run defeat – their second straight loss in the season after losing to Mumbai Indians in their season opener.

Dhoni came to bat at No.9 after Ashwin even when Chennai were reeling at 80/6 after 13 overs. The situation was not ideal for Dhoni to inflict a turnaround but he smashed three fours and two sixes in his short stay at the crease.

However, the move to send Dhoni in the fag end of the innings was not welcomed by many including former players, commentators and fans.

“This is exactly what CSK fans come to see – 30 off 16 deliveries from Dhoni. I would have absolutely loved to see him come up the order. In my opinion, he should have batted ahead of Ashwin. Given the game situation, Dhoni could have played like this for another 15 balls. Over the last couple of years, he has consistently shown that he’s still batting beautifully. I truly believe he should be promoted up the order so we can see the full extent of his skills,” Watson said on JioHotstar.

“From a wicket-keeping perspective, he’s still as sharp as ever—whipping the bails off in an instant. That tells me his game is in great shape, and he’s as well-prepared as he possibly can be. If CSK had sent him in earlier, they would have had a better chance of crossing the line. Of course, the crowd absolutely loved what he did tonight, but if he had come in sooner, CSK might have had a stronger shot at victory.”

Watson was also fazed by CSK’s decision to send Rahul Tripathi to open the batting with Rachin Ravindra while also questioning the batting order of Sam Curran.

“It was disappointing to see certain decisions, like Rahul Tripathi opening the batting. Ruturaj Gaikwad is a quality opener, yet he had to come in later. Even one of the shots Ruturaj played – where he gave himself room against Hazlewood – was uncharacteristic. Normally, he stands still and reacts, but this showed he was under pressure. Deepak Hooda, at the moment, just isn’t up to it; he played each ball as if he was trying to survive. Batting Sam Curran at No. 5 was also questionable—I see him as more of a No. 7 batter,” he said.

“Right now, CSK hasn’t got their combinations right, and they need to make a few adjustments. If they persist with this batting line-up, they risk being exposed,” Watson added.

For RCB, it was their first win against CSK at Chepauk since the inaugural edition of the IPL. Skipper Rajat Patidar’s half-century and cameo knocks from Phil Salt (32), Virat Kohli (31) and Devdutt Padikkal (27) helped them to post 196/7 in 20 overs which their bowlers successfully defended.

With the win, RCB climbed to the top of the standings with two consecutive victories and will next take on Gujarat Titans on April 2.

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