Pune: Lucknow Super Giants beat Punjab Kings in IPL 2022 Match 42 at the MCA Stadium in Pune to earn two critical points, however LSG skipper KL Rahul was not pleased with his team’s batting performance, stating they ‘played stupid cricket.’
“I was disappointed and fuming at the end of the first innings. We played stupid cricket with the bat,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
“We need to get better with the bat. Half-time, when Quinny and Deepak were batting. They paced it really, really well to get to 60 in 9 overs on a tricky wicket. Had we batted smartly, we could have gotten to 180-190.
“I think we just need to be smarter at reading the game. If we could not have played too many shots, we could have done better. We have been good on the field and good with the ball. Just need to keep repeating the good things.”
After a rare batting failure from KL Rahul, LSG successfully defended a below-par total of 153. Quinton de Kock scored 46 runs and had an 85-run second-wicket stand with Deepak Hooda, but LSG’s middle order crumbled. In the space of five overs, they plummeted from 98 for 1 to 126 for 7, losing 8 wickets for 28 runs.
LSG huffed and puffed to 153, owing to some late blows from lower-order batsman Mohsin Khan and Dushmantha Chameera, as big guns Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, and Krunal Pandya went for single-digit scores. Meanwhile, the LSG bowlers put up a valiant effort, with pacer Dushmantha Chameera (2/17) and wicketkeeper Krunal Pandya (2/11) both taking two wickets. Mohsin Khan, who had smashed a quickfire 13 off six deliveries, took three wickets, including Liam Livingstone, as Punjab Kings were limited to 133 for their innings.
