"He always stops himself" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's extremely slow batting in LSG's IPL 2024 loss vs SRH

Aakash Chopra has claimed that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul invariably tends to restrict himself. The opening batter played a painstaking knock in LSG's crushing IPL 2024 loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Rahul scored 29 runs off 33 deliveries as LSG set SRH a 166-run target in Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 8. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma then stitched together an unbroken 167-run opening-wicket partnership in just 9.4 overs to take the hosts to an emphatic win.

Reflecting on the Lucknow Super Giants' batting in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that they went at a snail's pace, with Rahul and Krunal Pandya failing to provide the required impetus after Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis' dismissals.

"There couldn't have been a slower local than this because you scored only 27 runs in the first six overs. First Quinton de Kock and then Marcus Stoinis got out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets this time as well. The wagon wasn't moving from both ends. Basically, it was a traffic jam," he said (2:00).

"Krunal Pandya came to bat and scored 24 runs off 21 balls. KL Rahul scored 29 runs off 33 balls. He always stops himself. He hit a six in front of the wickets off Pat Cummins' bowling but after that, the wagon didn't move at all, and then when he tried to hit once, he was caught in the deep. So nothing happened there as well," the former India opener added.

Chopra opined that LSG were virtually out of the game because of their extremely slow batting in the first half of their innings.

"You cannot score 27 runs in six overs. It's not something you can make the game with because firstly, you have a team with such a strong batting lineup in front of you, and secondly, 27 runs in six overs is slightly unacceptable these days. After that, only 57 runs were scored in the first 10 overs and three wickets were lost," he observed.

De Kock and Stoinis' dismissals reduced LSG to 21/2 after 4.2 overs. Rahul and Pandya (24 off 21) then consumed 5.4 overs for their 36-run third-wicket partnership to put the visitors behind the eight ball.

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"It was nothing to do with the pitch" - Aakash Chopra on LSG's timid batting

KL Rahul hit only two boundaries during his 33-ball stay at the crease. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra noted that the Lucknow Super Giants' pedestrian approach cannot be attributed to the pitch.

"When we were watching the first innings, we felt the pitch was slightly slow but neither were we seeing the right thing nor were they (LSG) understanding the right thing. It was nothing to do with the pitch. It was just the batting," he said (2:55).

However, the cricketer-turned-commentator praised Nicholas Pooran (48* off 26) and Ayush Badoni (55* off 30) for taking their team to a respectable total.

"Nicholas Pooran scored 48 runs and took the team to a respectable total. Ayush Badoni was there with him. He also scored 55 runs off 30 balls. Both of them hit a little in the end and took the team to 165, which, to be honest, didn't seem possible. Genuinely, it felt like you would score 135 to 140," Chopra elaborated.

Badoni joined Pooran in the middle when LSG were reduced to 66/4 after 11.2 overs at the fall of Krunal Pandya's wicket. The duo stitched together an unbroken 99-run partnership to take their team to a fighting total, which eventually proved well below par.