"Get that clown out of Indian team please!"- Twitter tears into KL Rahul for his knock against RCB as LSG crash out of IPL 2022

KL Rahul's 79(58) wasn't enough to take the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to Qualifier 2 as they lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 14 runs on May 25. Despite having one of the strongest IPL teams on paper, LSG would have been gutted that they bowed out of the tournament at this stage.

The target of 208 was a steep one and LSG lost Quinton de Kock quite early. But KL Rahul didn't make the most use of the powerplay and chose to play himself in. Despite accelerating just after the powerplay, Rahul once again went into the shell in the middle overs.

Fans on Twitter blamed Rahul for LSG's loss against RCB. They felt had the opener been more proactive, they could have chased the total down with ease. Some also slammed the management for sending a top-order batter like Evin Lewis to bat at No.6.

Here are some of the reactions:

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KL Rahul couldn't quite up the ante in the end

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when LSG sent Manan Vohra to bat at No. 3, despite having the explosive Evin Lewis in the shed. Vohra did play a handy cameo, but many felt Lewis would have made more use of the powerplay.

Deepak Hooda walked out to bat and, after struggling initially, took the attack to the RCB bowlers. KL Rahul, too, found some momentum and the two went about things nicely. Despite being hit for a couple of sixes, Wanindu Hasaranga castled Hooda and that proved to be a big moment in the chase.

Rahul did get some boundaries towards the end but Marcus Stoinis clearly had to go big from ball one and struggled to do so. His run-a-ball knock of nine ended and brought Lewis to the crease.

It was never going to be easy for an opener to suddenly play the role of a finisher and, naturally so, Lewis struggled towards the end. Rahul did mention after the game that LSG's poor fielding made the difference, but many would argue that it was his questionable intent in the middle-overs that cost LSG the game.

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