IPL 2024: “He always stops himself” – Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul’s batting against SRH

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on KL Rahul’s slow batting against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Wednesday. After opting to bat first, Rahul failed to achieve any kind of impetus in his batting.

The LSG captain meandered to 29 off 33 balls before he was dismissed by SRH captain Pat Cummins. Rahul scored one four and one six but scored his runs at a strike rate of 87.88. 

Rahul’s strike rate has been a problem in the past and he once again failed to get out of the jail against the Orange Army. LSG could only manage 27-2 in the Powerplay overs and Rahul could not lead from the front.

On the other hand, SRH chased down 166 runs in just 9.4 overs with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma scoring 89 and 75 runs respectively.

“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,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“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.

The renowned commentator feels LSG let the game slip as they managed only 27 runs in the first six overs. SRH, on the other hand, smashed 107 runs when the field restrictions were on.

“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.

The former KKR player feels LSG’s timid batting approach had nothing to do with 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.

Chopra feels Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni did well to help LSG post 165 runs on the board. The left and right-handed duo added 99 runs off 55 balls.

“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.

Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday.