Premier batter KL Rahul was outsmarted by pace ace Trent Boult as the speedster produced a stunning maiden over to unnerve the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper in match No.26 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday. After suffering a defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rahul's LSG side was hoping to return to winning ways when the Lucknow-based franchise locked horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Leading the batting charge of the Super Giants against the last season's runners-up, Rahul struggled to get going in the opening powerplay of the action-packed encounter. The former Indian vice-captain even failed to open his account in the first over of LSG's innings. With Boult giving RR a brilliant start at Jaipur, LSG skipper Rahul was trolled by netizens after the star batter failed to up the ante in the first over.
"KL Rahul started with maiden over in powerplay once again, perfect start for the academy," a fan lashed out at Rahul on Twitter "When you open with KL Rahul, you bat for 19 overs," one fan expressed his disappointment. "Feel like KL Rahul has accepted that this is how he'll play t20s, no matter what, so it's useless to expect him to play the way he did in 2018," another fan added.
{{/usCountry}}"KL Rahul started with maiden over in powerplay once again, perfect start for the academy," a fan lashed out at Rahul on Twitter "When you open with KL Rahul, you bat for 19 overs," one fan expressed his disappointment. "Feel like KL Rahul has accepted that this is how he'll play t20s, no matter what, so it's useless to expect him to play the way he did in 2018," another fan added.
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, Boult equalled Bhuvneshwar Kumar's unique feat by leaking no runs in the very first over of the match. Boult (8) has bowled the joint-most first-over maidens in the IPL. Boult and Bhuvneshwar are followed by ex-India pacer Praveen Kumar, who bowled seven first-over maidens in the cash-rich league. Boult bowled four overs and leaked only 16 runs against Rahul's LSG at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The New Zealand pacer also bagged the crucial wicket of Ayush Badoni in the 12th over.
Talking more about the match, Rahul scored 39 off 32 balls as the star batter missed out on notching up his second half-century of the IPL 2023. The Indian opener was dismissed by Jason Holder, who conceded 37 runs in four overs. Kyle Mayers' gritty half-century and Nicholas Pooran's quick-fire knock of 28 off 20 balls lifted Lucknow Super Giants to 154-7 in 20 overs. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin emerged as the pick of the bowlers as the RR star bagged two wickets and leaked 23 runs in four overs.