Tasked to chase down a gigantic total in the den of the Yellow Brigade, West Indies power-hitter Kyle Mayers was in a punishing mood as KL Rahul‘s partner-in-crime batted at an explosive strike rate of over 240 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). While Mayers notched up one of the fastest half-centuries in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Chepauk, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rahul was a tad slower in the powerplay.
Inside the first five overs, Rahul’s LSG reached 73-0 as the visitors were keen on spoiling Chennai’s homecoming at the iconic Chepauk. After smashing a 21-ball half-century, Mayers was removed by Moeen Ali in the 6th over. With CSK removing an on-song Mayers, the onus was on Rahul to switch gears and put LSG in the driving seat of the high-scoring contest between Lucknow and Chennai. However, Rahul failed to bank on his start as the star batter perished for cheap in the high-scoring encounter.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo about Rahul’s unimpressive outing with the willow against CSK, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar observed that the LSG skipper was in a withdrawn state when Mayers tormented the Chennai bowlers. “When Kyle Mayers batted with a strike rate of 240, KL Rahul went into a shell. Once Mayers got out, Rahul realized he had to go for the big shots and was dismissed at a strike rate of just 111. It’s very difficult to suddenly be explosive when you’re already playing in one gear. You need to play every ball on its merit and just because the opening partner is going hard, doesn’t mean you should slow down,” Manjrekar said.
Indian opener Rahul was outsmarted by Moeen in the 8th over of LSG’s innings. The former India vice-captain only managed to score 20 off 18 balls. Before his flop show against CSK in the IPL 2023, Rahul was dismissed for 8 off 12 balls in LSG’s campaign opener against Delhi Capitals. Spinner Moeen, who removed the LSG openers inside the 16 overs, went on to take the match-changing wickets of Krunal Pandya (9) and Marcus Stoinis (21) to help CSK register their first win of the new season.
Moeen bagged four wickets and leaked 26 runs in 4 overs against Lucknow. The England all-rounder was also named the Player of the Match. Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants will meet 2016 winners Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match No. 10 of the IPL 2023 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday.
