The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) faced a significant setback in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs quest after a crushing 10-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday. Despite setting a total of 165/4, LSG’s bowlers had no answer to the destructive batting of SRH’s opening pair, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who chased down the target in just 9.4 overs.
Head’s blistering half-century in just 16 balls, along with Sharma’s rapid fifty in 19 deliveries, left LSG’s bowlers and captain KL Rahul searching for answers. After the game, a visibly stunned Rahul admitted to being “lost for words” over SRH’s explosive batting performance.
In a post-match interview, Rahul acknowledged SRH’s skills and the ease with which they chased down the target, stating, “We have watched that kind of batting on TV. But this is unreal batting. Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat. Kudos to their skills. They have worked hard on their six-hitting skills.”
The impact of this loss extends beyond the field, as cameras captured an animated exchange between LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and captain KL Rahul. While the content of their discussion was not audible, Goenka appeared animated while Rahul listened attentively. The public nature of the interaction drew commentary from experts, who suggested that such conversations should happen behind closed doors.
An expert on Jio Cinema remarked, “It’s an owner that is obviously very passionate about his team. He’s watched his team take an absolute drubbing. The emotions are all there. But you always feel these conversations should be happening behind closed doors. There are so many cameras around the stadium, and they miss nothing.”
Following the match, Rahul reflected on LSG’s performance and conceded that they were significantly short of a competitive total, saying, “We were 40-50 runs short. When we lost wickets in the powerplay, we couldn’t get any momentum. Ayush and Nicky batted well to get us to 166. But even if we would have got 240, they could have chased it as well.”
The heavy defeat not only impacts LSG’s playoffs hopes but also sets a record for the biggest margin in a chase of 150-plus runs in T20 cricket, with 62 balls to spare. As the IPL progresses, LSG will need to quickly recover from this setback if they hope to stay in contention for the playoffs.
