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THE TIMES OF INDIA | May 14, 2024, 17:25:00 IST
DC vs LSG IPL 2024 Live Score - Only a few Lucknow Super Giants players turned up to train at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday afternoon, on the eve of their crucial match against Delhi Capitals. One of them was skipper KL Rahul who, under the unforgiving sun, was sweating it out as he tries to improve his own and his team's fortunes. He has been in focus, especially after the animated conversation with team owner Sanjiv Goenka after the drubbing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game. Rahul's own T20 game seems to have come up short this IPL season. Forever scrutinised over his 'lack of intent', Rahul has failed to find a spot in India's T20 World Cup team. His 460 runs this IPL so far has come at a strike rate of 136, which seems well below par going by the tournament standards. The LSG management has been trying hard to stress that he remains an exceptional cog in their machine. Head coach Justin Langer, while speaking to TOI on Monday, kept mentioning Rahul in the same breath as the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Assistant coach Lance Klusener too tried to justify Rahul's approach at the top of the order: "KL's got his own unique style which has made him a fantastic player, not just here in India. He is respected around the world." One of the reasons that Rahul has been ignored by the Indian team management is his inability to evolve along with T20's fierce power-hitting trends. He seems bent on playing the anchor role which has left the rest of the batting to do the heavy lifting. Klusener presented Rahul's side of the story. "It's been exceptionally tough for him this IPL because we've kept losing wickets, which hasn't allowed him to kick on. He feels he is always having to rebuild. I think it's just been extremely tough conditions for him in that way. It's something we've chatted about," Klusener stated. "By KL's high standards, he probably would have liked to have kicked on in a few more games. Probably would have liked to have at least one or two hundreds. But there's still a couple of games left. He's in a good space, so we've got our fingers crossed," he added. As Rahul worked on his hitting skills with a vertical bat at the centre square of the Kotla, LSG would hope he gets going on Tuesday in the make-or-break match. For, the Kotla strip has consistently been most conducive to the power game. A sedate Rahul would mean LSG playing catch-up again.
DC vs LSG Live Score - Bowlers need to step up for Lucknow
The loss of tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav to injury has left a big hole which Yash Thakur and Naveen-ul-Haq haven't been able to fill. Also Mohsin Khan picked up an injury and didn't play last match. The spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi too have been to do a lot of soul searching after being punished by SRH.
DC vs LSG Live Score - Lucknow openers need to step up!
KL Rahul hasn't been in the best of form and it's not only cost him a place in India's T20 squad but also left LSG at the seventh spot with 12 points with RCB and DC, who are fifth and sixth respectively. Five days is a lot of time to introspect and Rahul and Co. will look to come out all guns blazing when they face DC, who are also on 12 points and are coming into the match after a loss against RCB on Sunday night. Besides Rahul, Quinton De Kock's poor form this season has left LSG struggling in the powerplay, putting pressure on the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran, who haven't got the freedom to unleash their big shots. Although Pooran and Ayush Badoni managed to rescue the team in the last match, the bowlers failed miserably against the formidable SRH pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who racked up 167 in 9.4 overs, a T20I record by any team.
Numbers Game
DC vs LSG Live Score - Tensions in LSG camp?
There were a lot of speculations about KL Rahul's future as LSG skipper after his "public reprimand" by team owner Sanjiv Goenka following their 10-wicket hammering by Sunrisers Hyderabad last Wednesday. But on Tuesday, both posted pics, hugging each other.
Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka hosted captain KL Rahul for dinner on Monday night, according to sources. A picture from the event, where Goenka is hugging Rahul, has gone viral on social media.
DC vs LSG Live Score - Eyes on Rahul
Focus will be on skipper KL Rahul as a struggling Lucknow Super Giants look to keep their slim IPL playoff chances alive when they face an equally desperate Delhi Capitals in a must-win game.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Match 64 of IPL 2024 where Delhi Capitals host Lucknow Super Giants.
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