Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad has lashed out at KL Rahul after Lucknow Super Giants lost to Gujarat Titans by seven runs while chasing 135 runs. After a decent bowling effort, Lucknow got off to a decent start with the bat. But as the game neared its final overs, Gujarat bowlers struck on a stranglehold as runs completely dried up for LSG.
Then in the final over, Super Giants needed 11 runs but failed to score and lost the game. Throughout the chase, Rahul held one end and scored 68 in 61 balls. But in this knock, the Indian batter didn't manage to break free and play some big shorts before falling in the final over.
Criticising this performance, Prasad took to Twitter and had some harsh words for Rahul. He called the LSG captain 'Brainless' and further slammed his approach for messing up the chase when his team needed 30 runs in 35 balls. Prasad also pointed out a similar performance involving Rahul from IPL 2020, where Punjab Kings need 22 runs to win from three overs but lost by two runs.
Venkatesh Prasad's tweet said, " 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."
The true star of this match was Mohit Sharma, who bowled the 18th and 20th over and turned the game in Gujarat's favour with his spell of 3-0-17-2 . Reacting to his performance, Sharma said, " Nothing special, everything's normal, as usual. I think I have been consistent. You need to focus and prepare in the same manner each and every time, that helps."
"You need to keep practising, just stick to the basics and try not to overthink. That belief factor was always there. Nehra adviced us to stick to our plans honestly. I tried to focus on executing my plans. Also tried that the batters couldn't read what I was trying to bowl."
