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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul continued his poor run in IPL 2023 when he made a timid 39 off 32 deliveries in his side's 10-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Wednesday, April 19. Despite Rahul's scratchy form, LSG have won four of their six games thanks to their excellent bowling and batting depth.
While Rahul's average and overall runs for the season are acceptable, his strike rate of just 114.79 has come under heavy scrutiny. He was LSG's leading run scorer last season with 616 runs at an impressive average of 51 and a strike rate of 135 to help them qualify for the playoffs.
The Karnataka-born batsman has finished in the top five of the Orange Cap list over the last five IPL seasons since 2018. Despite all the individual glory, the usual questions about Rahul's batting tempo and strike rate were raised even before this season.
The 31-year-old's strike rate, particularly in the powerplay, has been heavily criticized by many fans and experts who believe it often sets the team behind the eight-ball. Even last season, Rahul had an abysmal strike rate of just 103.6 in the powerplay, but he often accelerated and converted them into big scores with a decent overall strike rate.
This season, however, Rahul has managed just one half-century in six matches while scoring at a painfully low strike rate of 109.2 in the powerplay with a dot ball percentage of almost 44. With his poor strike rate in the powerplay, he has often left the other batters with too much to do in run chases or been one of the main reasons for the team's below-par totals batting first.
Some experts haven't taken too kindly to Rahul's batting in the powerplay and have criticized the LSG skipper for his slow batting tempo and lack of aggression.
Here, we look at three experts who have slammed KL Rahul's powerplay batting this season.
# 1 Kevin Pietersen
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen lashed out at KL Rahul during his knock of 39 from 32 deliveries against the Rajasthan Royals. KL labored to a run-a-ball 19 in the powerplay despite the team not losing any wickets, as they finished 37-0 in the first six overs.
Rahul's approach left Pietersen disappointed as he slammed the opener, saying:
"Watching KL Rahul bat in powerplays is the most boring thing I have ever been through."
Fortunately for LSG, Rahul's knock did not cost them, and they ended up beating the Royals by ten runs in a low-scoring affair.
# 2 Sanjay Manjarekar
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjarekar observed that KL Rahul was retrained while his opening partner Kyle Mayers went on an all-out attack against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on April 3. Chasing a mammoth 217, Mayers took the CSK bowlers to the cleaners in his scintillating knock of 53 from 22 deliveries.
Rahul, on the other hand, played a tepid knock of 20 from 18 balls before being dismissed by Moen Ali in the eighth over of the innings.
Speaking after the match on Rahul's batting, Manjarekar said:
"When Kyle Mayers batted with a strike rate of 240, KL Rahul went into a shell. Once Mayers got out, Rahul realized he had to go for the big shots and was dismissed at a strike rate of just 111."
"It's very difficult to suddenly be explosive when you're already playing in one gear. You need to play every ball on its merit and just because the opening partner is going hard, doesn't mean you should slow down."
Rahul's slow batting display proved costly and left the others with way too much to do as they went down to the Super Kings by 12 runs.
# 3 Wasim Jaffer
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer slammed KL Rahul's batting approach in their encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 10. Chasing a target of 213 for victory, Rahul played a snail-paced knock of 18 from 20 balls.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Jaffer expressed surprise and advised Rahul to show more intent with the bat considering LSG's deep batting lineup. He said:
"I am surprised. It was a bit painful as well. When you are chasing 213 and you are the captain, you need to lead from the front. Rahul will have to change his intent. LSG have a very good batting line-up."
He continued:
"In the current team, Krunal Pandya hasn’t fired yet, same with Deepak Hooda. Also, there is a lot of depth in the batting. He will need to show some intent because the team has really good back-ups. It’s not like LSG would not be able to score runs if Rahul gets out."
Fortunately for the Lucknow Super Giants, brilliance from Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran helped them pull off a last-ball victory by one wicket.
