"Gautam Gambhir will bat better than this!" - Fans roast LSG for horrible batting collapse as GT qualify for IPL 2022 playoffs

At the halfway stage, no one would have thought that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)'s deep batting line-up would be bundled out for just 82 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) while chasing a modest target of 145 in the IPL 2022 on Tuesday.

There was no momentum whatsoever in Lucknow's innings as wickets fell in clusters and the high-quality bowling attack of the Titans took full advantage of a sticky pitch.

Fans on Twitter were shocked to see one of the more consistent batting sides surrender meekly in a game that could have almost sealed their top-two finish.

Some also hailed GT and trolled LSG for such a calamitous batting performance, as they felt that even if the pitch was a bit tricky, it wasn't bad enough to trigger such a collapse.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Rashid Khan was chief destroyer of LSG batting

KL Rahul has been the backbone of Lucknow batting and it was important for GT to get him out early. Although they couldn't do that, Mohammad Shami's sensational new-ball spell ensured that Rahul didn't fly off the blocks.

That put pressure on his opening partner Quinton de Kock as he tried to up the ante. Yash Dayal then picked up de Kock's wicket and that opened the floodgates for the Titans.

Rahul soon departed and Deepak Hooda tried to consolidate LSG's chase. Although Hooda tried to keep the scoreboard ticking at one end, GT bowlers made in-roads into Lucknow's middle-order with wickets at regular intervals.

Absolutely no Lucknow batter could get going and the fact that only three players could reach double figures showed the sorry state of their batting performance. Shami picked up a wicket while Dayal and debutant R Sai Kishore scalped a couple of wickets.

But the star of the show was Rashid Khan, whose figures of 4/24 completely punctured Lucknow's chase.

With this emphatic win, GT become the first IPL team to qualify for the playoffs. LSG will need to reflect on their batting performance as they still have enough time to find solutions.

Catch the next match on the IPL timetable 2022 here.