"Thought it was going to be Marus Stoinis" - Deep Dasgupta questions LSG's move of opening the batting with Ayush Badoni vs RCB 

Deep Dasgupta feels the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should have promoted Marcus Stoinis to open the innings in their run chase against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, May 1.

The former cricketer pointed out that with regular opener KL Rahul injured, it made more sense to send someone like Stoinis at the top considering the spin-friendly surface.

Deep Dasgupta suggested that the Aussie batter could have accumulated some quick runs in the powerplay overs. The cricketer-turned-commentator also claimed that instead of opening with Ayush Badoni, they should have kept the youngster in the middle order, given his ability to play spin well.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after LSG's 18-run loss to RCB, he explained:

"When KL Rahul was not going to open, I thought it was going to be Marus Stoinis opening. If it's going to be predominantly spin bowling in the middle overs, you'd rather have Stoinis open when the ball is a bit new. A great example was that shot he played on the second ball he faced."

"If Stoinis would have come in there, it would have been comparatively easier once he would have settled down and then played spin. You have someone like Ayush Badoni, a domestic player who plays spin well. Have him for the middle overs rather than him opening," he added.

Notably, Marcus Stoinis walked out to bat at No.5. He failed to step up during the run chase, scoring just 13 runs off 19 balls.

Lucknow were ultimately bundled out for a paltry score of 108, failing to chase down a 127-run target set by Bangalore.

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"Needed to try and cash in and get to that 45-50 mark" - Tom Moody on LSG's batting in powerplay

During the aforementioned discussion, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody stated that LSG need to score around 45 to 50 runs in the powerplay to be able to get the upper hand in the encounter.

He highlighted that opener Kyle Mayers getting out in the very first over was a big moment in the game. Moody elaborated:

"I think the key figure was Kyle Mayers's dismissal. It was the second ball that he had faced and he got out to the ball halfway down and just clubbed it. He didn't time. They need him to have that sort of impact in the powerplay. As we saw in the first innings, playing freely with any sort of timing was near impossible."

"When the new ball was hard, they needed to try and cash in and get to that 45-50 mark to break the back of that chase," he added. "It was still going to be difficult even if they got to that point without KL Rahul. But it would have made it a little more approachable."

The veteran coach pointed out that LSG's strength is their power-hitting. He opined that the home team created a disadvantage for themselves by preparing a surface where their own batters struggled. Moody remarked:

"Lucknow have based their batting lineup around power-hitters in the middle. When you are playing on a surface like that, you take away all that advantage. We saw the advantage of that batting lineup on a very good batting surface in Mohali and Bangalore. They suffocated their own strength."

Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Co. have five wins and four losses to their name from nine outings. They are currently placed third in the IPL 2023 points table at this juncture.