Watch: LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka seen bickering with KL Rahul post SRH drubbing, sends netizens into a frenzy

KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)

In the realm of sports, victory and defeat are integral components, each contributing to the fabric of competition. They represent the ebb and flow of athletic endeavours, shaping the narrative of athletes’ journeys. Cricket is one of the many sports where there has to be a winning team and a losing one at the end of the day, both having their respective moments on the field, with the side having a greater count of better junctures usually prevailing over the other.

Decimations are an elusive rarity to come by, especially in a franchise league such as the Indian Premier League, where no particular team can be written off at any stage, underscoring the profound competition deeply entrenched in the roots of the tournament, which had its inaugural season way back in 2008. However, Match 57 of IPL 2024 turned out to be a crucification for one team, and a record-shattering history-bending conquest for the other.

In a vital clash between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Lucknow Super Giants as far as the race for the playoffs is concerned, the KL Rahul-led LSG opted to bat first, which to be frank, did not come as a surprise to many, considering the lethal pyrotechnics the SRH batters have put up this season after getting opportunities to express themselves with the bat first.

SRH beat LSG by 10 wickets

A record fifth-wicket stand for LSG in their nascent IPL history between Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni set up a 166-run target for the visitors after a snail-paced Rahul never got going in a laggard innings of 29 (33), followed by disappointing outings for Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis. What ensued was utter mayhem, with southpaws Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head going berserk barring the first over of the innings, in which they only managed eight runs.

With 107 being bludgeoned in the powerplay itself, it was a stroll in the park for the power-packed duo, whose 75* (28) and 89* (30) helped SRH take down the total in two deliveries less than the halfway mark, not sparing anyone off the hook, battering Krishnappa Gowtham, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveel-ul-Haq, and Badoni to every inch of the ground and beyond.

However, what ensued was a sight that staggered a few, left a few others dumbfounded, and reduced the bulk of the onlookers and viewers into extreme bitterness. Following the drubbing, the 63-year-old owner of LSG, Sanjiv Goenka, along with his wife Preeti, were seen with Rahul on the sidelines. Goenka was seen in a very animated persona and was purportedly seen schooling the likes of the seasoned Rahul like a literal schoolboy, which did not sit well with quite a lot of individuals.

Never has an instance such as the Sanjiv Goenka-KL Rahul one has been seen with other owner-skipper duos, however poorly their respective teams have performed on a given day. The sheer manner in which Goenka was adamant about getting his point across to an experienced professional cricketer of the stature of Rahul exasperated users of cyber forums.