'Someone tell KL Rahul he’s not auditioning for ODI World Cup...': LSG skipper faces fans backlash for poor strike rate

KL Rahul has scored just 126 runs in four matches this season at an underwhelming strike rate of 128.57.

KL Rahul continued to struggle with the bat in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League as he failed to score big in the clash against Gujarat Titans on Sunday night. Rahul struggled to get going at Ekana and scored 33 runs off 31 balls at a strike rate of 106.45.

KL Rahul scored 33 runs off 31 balls at a strike rate of 106.45 against Gujarat Titans.(AFP)

The Lucknow Super Giants skipper has scored just 126 runs in four matches this season at an underwhelming strike rate of 128.57. He scored a half-century but that ended up in the losing cause.

In the second match on Sunday, Rahul won the toss and opted to bat and Umesh Yadav made them regret the decision by dismissing Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal early in the powerplay for 6 and 7 respectively.

The onus was on Rahul to rebuild the innings and batted cautiously during the 78-run stand alongside Marcus Stoinis. However, he failed to break the shackles when the team needed and was dismissed on 33 by Darshan Nalkande.

The fans on social media were unimpressed with Rahul's underwhelming show and his struggles to accelerate in the shortest format.

Rahul's strike rate dropped drastically after the 20 balls which is a concerning sign for him and his franchise. On the first 20 balls, his strike rate was 120 which dropped down to 82 from 21 to 31 balls.

The flamboyant batter looked solid with his three boundaries off Spencer Johnson with delightful strokes through the square and straight down the ground to pick up 13 runs off the fourth over. However, he went into a shell after the powerplay and failed to get going.

Rahul went for a huge heave down the ground off Darshan Nalkande that was in the slot, but mistimed the hit and Rahul Tewatia took a fine catch at long-on in the 13th over.

Earlier, LSG made no change to their playing eleven from the last match, while GT made two changes. Wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha is ruled out with a back spasm and BR Sharath came in his place, while Spencer Johnson was replaced by Azmatullah Omarzai.

Meanwhile, Stoinis' 58 off 43 balls and Nicholas Pooran's late flourish 32 off 22 balls helped Lucknow post a challenging 163/5 on the scoreboard. For GT, pacers Umesh Yadav and Darshan Nalkande took two wickets apiece.