"It seemed I was playing" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's slow knock in LSG's IPL 2023 win against RCB

Aakash Chopra has questioned KL Rahul for his timid batting approach in the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) IPL 2023 win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

RCB set a massive 213-run target for LSG after being asked to bat first in Bengaluru on Monday, April 10. The visiting side chased down the target off the very last delivery with just one wicket to spare despite Rahul scoring a painstaking 18 runs off 20 balls.

While reflecting on the Lucknow Super Giants' chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was surprised by their skipper's approach, elaborating:

"It seemed I was playing because he (KL Rahul) was playing at a run-a-ball. It was surprising because lalthough wickets were falling, a player of KL Rahul's class should hit. The bat is not firing this year and the problem is that if it hasn't fired here, it will not fire in Lucknow in any case, the pitches are not good there."

On the flip side, the former Indian opener heaped praise on Marcus Stoinis for playing an explosive knock, saying:

"Marcus Stoinis came and hit hard. Lucknow made a huge investment (₹10 crore) in this player. Everyone was surprised why so much money was spent on him but he gave his dividend this time. He batted extremely well."

Stoinis smashed 65 runs off 30 balls when LSG were reduced to 23/3 after four overs. He dominated the 76-run fourth-wicket partnership with KL Rahul before he holed out to Shahbaz Ahmed at deep point off Karn Sharma's bowling.

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"He activated flight mode" - Aakash Chopra lauds Nicholas Pooran's knock in LSG's chase

Nicholas Pooran smoked 62 runs off just 19 balls. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra lauded Nicholas Pooran for playing a belligerent knock in LSG's chase, stating:

"When Marcus got out and Rahul got out right after him, it seemed they are gone. But there came Nicholas Pooran. He sent the balls far away. He activated flight mode. He scores this season's fastest fifty in just 15 balls."

The reputed commentator also praised Ayush Badoni for playing a sensible knock before his unfortunate dismissal, observing:

"Ayush Badoni - how well he played. He came in as the Impact Player and played an extremely important knock. When Nicholas Pooran got out while trying to hit a six off Siraj's full toss, he was left alone. He first hit a four off Wayne Parnell's bowling and then a six but got out hit-wicket."

Chopra concluded by highlighting that LSG somehow managed to scrape through to a win in the end, explaining:

"An extra fielder had to come in for the last over because the overrate was slow. One run was required off the last delivery - too much drama. There was a run-out chance at the non-striker's end which was missed. Then Dinesh Karthik couldn't gather the ball and in the end, Lucknow won the match by one wicket off the last ball."

The Lucknow Super Giants needed just five runs off the last over with three wickets in hand. However, they lost two wickets while scoring four runs off the first five balls.

Harshal Patel missed the stumps while trying to run out Ravi Bishnoi at the non-striker's end for backing up too early on the final delivery. Avesh Khan and Bishnoi then ran a bye, with Dinesh Karthik fumbling the ball behind the wickets, to take their side home.