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Former Australian pacer Brett Lee criticized Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul for his lack of intent and poor strike rate during his side's loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers shined to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 98 runs in the 54th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday. During a run-chase of 236 runs, KL played a slow knock of 25 in 21 balls, with three boundaries. His runs came at a strike rate of 119.04. His team was bundled out for 137 runs in 16.1 overs. After the game, Brett said at JioCinema that KL performed highly in contrast to KKR's explosive opening pair of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine and put pressure on other batters. "I think if you look at both opening batters from both sides, it is a complete contrast. KKR has got it right. They are out of the blocks quickly, and they are scoring runs. And then you got KL Rahul on the other side, that is, you know, getting a run a ball and putting a lot of pressure on the back end," said Brett. "You know, we saw four games and I picked KL Rahul here, the first four games he played. His strike rate was 129, then he went to 150 and now he has come back and said, 'well, yeah, you know the bowlers have done a great job. I think there is a lot of pressure on him because he has not scored the runs he should be," Lee added. KL is the fourth-highest run-getter this season, scoring 431 runs in 11 games at an average of 39.18 and a strike rate of 141.31, with three half-centuries. His best score is 82. Coming to the game, LSG opted to field first after winning the toss. Narine's 81, combined with solid knocks from Phil Salt (32 in 14 balls, with five fours and a six), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32 in 26 balls, with three fours and a six) and Ramandeep Singh (25* in six balls, with a four and three sixes) took KKR to 235/6 in their 20 overs. Naveen-ul-Haq (3/49) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG. Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi and Yudhvir Singh got a wicket each. In run chase of 236, Lucknow lost wickets at regular intervals. Marcus Stoinis (36 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and skipper KL Rahul (25 in 21 balls, with three fours) were the top scorers as LSG bundled out for 137 runs in 16.1 overs. Harshit Rana (3/24) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/30) were the top wicket takers for KKR. KKR is at the top with eight wins, three losses and 16 points. LSG is at fifth with six wins, five losses and 12 points. Sunil Narine took home the 'Player of the Match' for his one wicket and 81 run knock. (ANI)
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