KL Rahul’s shell-shocked reaction sums up LSG’s improbable defeat vs GT, opens up on criticism for sluggish knock

Sometimes tragedy tends to strike so quick that seldom does the opportunity come of gathering oneself to ponder upon the wrongs.

On Saturday, a smooth-sailing Lucknow Super Giants were struck down in the most unfathomable fashion at their own ground as Gujarat Titans stole a seven-run win while defending a score of 134. And captain KL Rahul’s post-match interaction, talking about the loss and his sluggish knock, perfectly summed up the emotion as he was at a complete loss for words or rather visibly stunned at how the momentum had changed in the blink of an eye.

A low total to chase and a well-set Rahul at the crease – LSG had the two big options in hand to chase for a win that could have steered them to the top of the points table in IPL 2023. The hosts had in fact recovered after an early dismissal with Rahul combining with Krunal Pandya for a fifty-run stand which ended in the 15th over. Yet, LSG were in a comfortable position with required off the last five overs with eight wickets in hand. And Rahul, by then, was already past his half-century mark in the game.

However, a sensational bowling performance from the GT attack in the slog overs followed by an unreal last over from Mohit Sharma saw LSG succumb to a seven-run loss.

LSG managed 18 runs in the next four overs for the loss of a wicket, requiring 12 off the final over to win. Lucknow still had the game in their hand with Rahul alive in the chase, but the unthinkable collapse started with the captain’s dismissal as LSG lost four wickets in consecutive deliveries.

Rahul was at a complete loss for words when he was called up for the post-match interaction as he could not find a reason for the defeat. “I don’t know how this happened and it has happened so fast, but yeah, that’s cricket, it keeps reminding us that the game is never won till the last ball,” Rahul said. “I still can’t put a finger on it and say where we went wrong, but it is what it is, we’ve lost two points. We had the game in our pockets and we let it slip. I just have to accept and take it as it is. It is a game and these things keep happening but this is going to sting us for a while. We will try and come back strong.”

Rahul was immensely criticised for his knock of 68 runs in 61 balls where 38 runs came from 42 deliveries after the powerplay.

“[I] obviously wasn’t trying to bat really deep, but still trying to play my shots, still trying to take on the bowlers I fancy,” Rahul said. “They bowled quite well in the two-or-three-over period between Noor and Jayant [Yadav]. And probably we should have taken a couple of more chances. We had a few wickets in hand but, look, it wasn’t an easy wicket for the batters to come in and get going straight away. Set batter – you obviously want them to play and finish the game for you.

“That was my mindset, but I should have taken a few more chances or just had to get a few off the middle of the bat.

“In the end, they did bowl decently, but I think we missed out on some boundary opportunities. That’s the only thing that really went wrong in the 40 overs that we played. In the last three to four overs, the pressure really got to us. They bowled some good balls, they bowled some good overs, but still we should have gotten it done.”