Giving ardent followers of the game something to cheer about during the rain-marred match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), legendary cricketer Jonty Rhodes produced an internet-breaking moment when Lucknow’s notorious weather tried playing spoilsport in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Incessant rain lashed the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in match No. 45 of the IPL 2023.
Winning the hearts of the fans in Lucknow, LSG fielding coach Rhodes offered a helping hand to the groundstaff during the rain-curtailed encounter. Rhodes’ incredible gesture for the groundstaff became an instant hit among the fans and followers of the game. “@JontyRhodes8 to the rescue No shortage of assistance for the ground staff in Lucknow #TATAIPL | #LSGvCSK,” the official Twitter handle of the IPL captioned its post.
Talking about the match, Lucknow’s home against Chennai was later called off due to rain as both teams were forced to split points in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league. Batting first in the rain-marred fixture at Lucknow, Lucknow Super Giants named a KL Rahul-less playing XI for their match against four-time champions Chennai. Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya was roped in as the stand-in skipper by the hosts in the absence of superstar Rahul. Premier batter Rahul is reportedly ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 due to a leg injury.
“We wanted to bat first, so it is even stevens. The batters can go out and express themselves. KL is a big loss, he’s a quality player but it creates an opportunity. The morale is pretty high, we are looking to play some positive cricket. Manan (Vohra) and Karan (Sharma) come in,” Krunal said after CSK won the toss and invited Lucknow to bat.
