'Brainless, baffling batting': Venkatesh Prasad rips into KL Rahul and LSG; Sehwag, Harbhajan react after collapse vs GT

KL Rahul scored 68 in 61 balls and his team ended up losing to GT by seven runs from a winning position.

The Lucknow Super Giants collapsed to one of the most stunning defeats of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season against the Gujarat Titans, failing to chase down a target of 136 despite need to 30 to win off the last six overs with eight wickets in hand at one point. LSG captain KL Rahul fell after scoring 68 off 61 balls and his strike rate has come under further scrutiny after the defeat.

Lucknow Super Giants batter KL Rahul reacts after his dismissal during the IPL 2023 match(PTI)

Rahul smashed 30 runs in his first 12 balls but then slowed down drastically, to the point that he scored just 18 runs off the last 23 deliveries he has faced. LSG played the full 20 overs but did not get a single boundary after the 13th. The LSG captain admitted that he didn't know what happened and how his team ended up losing the game. "I don't know how it happened, but it has happened. I can't put a finger on where it went wrong, but we lost 2 points today, this is cricket," he said. Rahul said that he, in fact, wasn't looking to take the game deep. "We were well ahead in the game and I wasn't really trying to bat deep, I still wanted to play my shots, take on the bowlers, but they bowled well in that 2-3 over period by Noor and Jayant. We perhaps should have taken a few more chances with wickets in hand," he said.

Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad did not mince his words while criticising Rahul on Twitter. “Bottling a run chase when 30 needed of 35 balls with 9 wickets in hand requires some baffling batting. Happened with Punjab in 2020 on few ocassions losing games they should have won easily. As brilliant as Guj were with ball & Hardik smart with his captaincy, brainless from Lko,” he said. Prasad has been highly critical of Rahul in the recent past with regards to the latter's selection in the Indian Test team before he was sacked as vice-captain and dropped from the squad.

Former India players Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh also reacted to the stunning result. While Sehwag simply expressed his surprise at the turnaround, Harbhajan also pulled the leg of his former India teammate Ashish Nehra, who is head coach of the Gujarat Titans.

LSG missed out on a chance to go top of the table, remaining second with eight points in seven games. GT, meanwhile have gone to eight points in six games and are fourth on the table. GT next play the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday at their home in Ahmedabad. LSG, meanwhile face Punjab Kings away from home in Mohali on April 28.