"KL Rahul disappointed a lot as a captain" - Mohammad Kaif on LSG's IPL 2024 loss to DC

Mohammad Kaif has criticized Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul's captaincy in his side's IPL 2024 loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Delhi on Tuesday, May 14. The visitors suffered a 19-run defeat and have virtually been knocked out of the playoff race.

DC set LSG a 209-run target after being asked to bat first. The hosts then restricted Rahul and company to 189/9 to end their league phase engagements with a win.

Reviewing the game on Star Sports, Kaif lambasted Rahul's captaincy, particularly his decision to field first.

"Take the video analyst's computer and put it away. They didn't go with any numbers. 200 has not been chased here at all. I am telling you this year's numbers. In all four matches, the team batting first has won. You won the toss and said you would field first," he said.

"If you leave aside Arshad Khan's knock, it was a very bad defeat. Arshad saved your pride a little. I believe it was a horrible decision not to bat first here. KL Rahul disappointed a lot as a captain. You said you would play positive but you need to make positive decisions as well," the former India batter added.

The teams batting first have won all five games, including the DC-LSG clash, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in IPL 2024. The team batting second has fallen short while chasing 200-plus totals every time.

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"You allowed them to score 200 even after dismissing Jake Fraser-McGurk" - Mohammad Kaif on LSG's bowling

Arshad Khan dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck in the first over. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Mohammad Kaif also questioned the Lucknow Super Giants' bowling for allowing the Delhi Capitals to post a massive total despite getting rid of Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck.

"You checked the pitch and felt that it had moisture. There was no moisture - 200 is scored here. The biggest mistake was the decision at the toss. After that, you allowed them to score 200 even after dismissing Jake Fraser-McGurk. So there will be a question mark on the bowling as well," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that LSG lost a great opportunity to consolidate their position in the playoff race.

"Delhi will not gain anything from this. They got two points but their net run rate has not improved much. Lucknow had everything to gain from this match. They had to lose or gain. If they had won, they could have reached 16 points. I believe it was an absolute flop show from Lucknow," Kaif elaborated.

With 12 points from 13 games and a net run rate of -0.787, LSG are seventh on the points table. Even if Lucknow register a massive win in their final league game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), they will need a few other virtually impossible results to qualify for the playoffs.