IPL 2024: Naveen-ul-Haq Blames Lack of Intent from Captain KL Rahul for LSG’s Loss to KKR

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Original Content: IPL 2024: Naveen-ul-Haq Blames Lack of Intent from Captain KL Rahul for LSG’s Loss to KKR

Naveen-ul-Haq didn’t mince words as he pointed fingers at Lucknow’s Super Giants’ batting lineup for their crushing 98-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the recent IPL 2024 match at Ekana Stadium on Sunday, May 4.

Both the LSG batters and bowlers, including Naveen-ul-Haq, failed to contain the in-form Kolkata batters. Sunil Narine led the onslaught with an outstanding 81-run knock from, while contributions from Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, and Ramandeep Singh helped KKR post a daunting target of 236.

In response, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a sluggish start, with KL Rahul scoring just 25 runs from 21 deliveries, while Arshin Kulkarni fell for nine runs. Questions arose again about KL Rahul’s intent, as in a massive run chase, teams rely on a strong start.

During the post-match conference, Naveen-ul-Haq revealed that the track at Ekana Stadium was one of the best batting tracks they have encountered this season. He attributed Lucknow Super Giants’ loss to the slow start and lack of intent.

“The wicket was quite good. The amount of games that we have played so far here in Lucknow, I think this was the best wicket to bat on. But we didn’t quite do the similar things that we did in the chases so far. In the game we played at Chepauk also we chased down the score but it didn’t turn out to be (the same), they bowled well.”

“The wicket wasn’t bad or anything I can say or was it stopping or gripping. Nothing worked there for the bowlers, they bowled well but we didn’t quite bat well,” Naveen said during the press conference.

Following a heavy defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants have jeopardized their playoff hopes, dropping to fifth in the points table and suffering a considerable blow to their net run rate.