Shastri blamed Rahul for the loss of Lucknow in the play-offs

Having loosed in the eliminator match, The Lucknow Super Giants have already bid farewell to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Captain Lokesh Rahul played a great innings in that match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, according to former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri, Lucknow lost because of Rahul.

Rahul was dismissed by RCB’s Australian fast bowler Jos Hazlewood in the 19th over of the match after playing an innings of 79 off 58 balls. After Rahul’s departure, the defeat of Lucknow was just a matter of time. But he could have taken more risks in his innings. Shastri thinks that the result of the match could have been different even if he had played with open hands.

Chasing the huge target of 208 runs, Lucknow was stumbled at the beginning. From there, however, captain Rahul took the responsibility of leading the team towards victory with Deepak Huda. However, they scored 49 runs in 7 to 13 overs. But it was the slow-moving pair that rang the team’s farewell bell, said Shastri.

“They should have played a little earlier,” he said. “They have waited a long time. They should have played targeting someone between 9 and 13 overs. Especially in their (Rahul-Huda) pair. Rahul should have taken more chances, because Huda was also playing well, ” he added.

Considering the turning point of the match, Shastri thinks Lucknow also had a great chance to win this match. The former India captain added, “In 9 to 13 overs, Rahul could have continued the game by targeting someone. Because in the end Herschel Patel will bowl. If the run rate had been increased then RCB would have been under pressure. “