KL Rahul sprung a surprise by giving the ball to Ayush Badoni [P/C: iplt20.com]
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that KL Rahul enjoyed the Midas touch during the Lucknow Super Giants‘ (LSG) IPL 2022 win against the Mumbai Indians last night.
Rahul, who first scored a century, struck gold with his bowling changes during MI’s run chase. The LSG bowlers picked up wickets at crucial junctures as the IPL newcomers registered a convincing 36-run win against the five-time champions.
While reflecting on the Lucknow Super Giants’ defense of the 169-run target in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Rahul’s captaincy decisions yielded rich dividends. He explained:
“There was a phase when Mumbai was 49 without loss and it became 67/4. In that little phase, whatever KL Rahul touched turned into gold. First he gets Ravi Bishnoi to bowl and he gets a wicket. Then he gets Mohsin Khan and he dismisses Dewald Brevis in the next over.”
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player added that the Lucknow Super Giants captain’s surprise call to bring Ayush Badoni into the attack earned them the prized scalp of Suryakumar Yadav. Chopra elaborated:
“Then he gets Krunal Pandya and Rohit Sharma hits the ball straight up in the air. Then he brings Ayush Badoni, we were thinking Deepak Hooda is there, you can get him to bowl if you need an off-spinner because Tilak Varma was there. Whom does he get out, Suryakumar Yadav. When it is your time, it goes like this. It was a miraculous phase for Lucknow Super Giants.”
Yadav got a leading edge while trying to play a Badoni delivery to the leg side and was caught by Rahul at extra cover. The in-form batter’s dismissal soon after the departure of Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis and Rohit Sharma put MI behind the eight ball and they never recovered from that.
“The wagon was moving really slow” – Aakash Chopra on Lucknow Super Giants’ batting effort
KL Rahul and Manish Pandey played sedately at the start of LSG’s innings [P/C: iplt20.com]
Speaking about the Lucknow Super Giants’ batting effort, Aakash Chopra highlighted that they got off to a pedestrian start. He observed:
“The wagon was moving really slow. They also kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. It seemed Mumbai was getting a grip on the match, Kieron Pollard picked up two wickets in two overs. The fifth bowler gave only 19 runs in four overs – Hrithik Shokeen’s two and two from Kieron Pollard.”
While observing that the Lucknow Super Giants skipper was not too pleased with the 168-run total, the renowned commentator pointed out that it proved more than enough in the end. Chopra said:
“Bumrah conceded only four runs in the 19th over. Rahul reached his century with a six off the first ball of the 20th over. Then he took a single, Badoni hit a six and then Rahul didn’t get the strike at all. That is why the team only reached 168, Rahul was disappointed at that time but who knew whatever they had will be enough.”
Almost all the Lucknow Super Giants bowlers played their roles to perfection. While Krunal Pandya (3/19) was the most successful bowler, Dushmantha Chameera conceded just 14 runs in his four overs.
