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Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen expressed disgust at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul’s poor strike rate in the powerplay overs.
He questioned Rahul for scoring just 19 runs off as many balls after the powerplay overs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday, April 19.
Speaking on-air, Kevin Pietersen said, as quoted by Sports Tak:
“Watching KL Rahul bat in powerplays is the most boring thing I have ever been through.”
KL Rahul, though, scored 39 off 32 deliveries at a strike rate of 121.88, including a maximum and four boundaries. He also survived a couple of catches on scores of six and 12 by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jason Holder, respectively.
So far, the 32-year-old has scored 194 runs in the first six games in IPL 2023 at an underwhelming strike rate of 114.79. The right-hander produced his best innings against the Punjab Kings, scoring 74 off 56 balls at a strike rate of 132.14 in a losing cause.
Meanwhile, this is his worst strike rate in the cash-rich league since 2014 and 2015, where he scored at strike rates of 101.21 and 112.69, respectively. Rahul scored 416 runs in 400 balls at a strike rate of 104 in powerplays during the IPL 2022 campaign. In 2023, he has so far batted at a strike rate of 109.19.
KL Rahul’s LSG sets a 155-run target for RR
KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants posted 154/7 in their allotted 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. Kyle Mayers top-scored, with 51 off 42 balls, including three sixes and four boundaries. Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis chipped in with 28 and 21 runs, respectively.
For RR, Ravichandran Ashwin emerged as the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 2/23. Trent Boult, Jason Holder, and Sandeep Sharma settled for one wicket apiece.
In response, RR were 60/0 after eight overs, with Yashavi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler at the crease.
Follow RR vs LSG live score updates here.
