KL Rahul was one of the biggest absentees in the T20 World Cup squad that was named by the BCCI on Tuesday. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter was not even named in the reserves list for the marquee event. Despite being an IPL captain and the first wicketkeeper-batter in IPL 2024 to complete 400 runs, Rahul was ignored. After the decision, Rahul found a voice of support from a popular Bollywood actor, Riteish Deshmukh. He wrote on X: “KL Rahul should have been there in the #T20WorldCup squad.”
KL Rahul should have been there in the #T20WorldCup squad.
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) April 30, 2024
Rahul’s team LSG beat MI on Tuesday. Marcus Stoinis once again rescued a win as Lucknow Super Giants emerged triumphant with a four-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. LSG struggled in the opening and suffered a middle order collapse, but Stoinis played an influential knock, which ensured that the hosts walked out victorious.
While chasing 145, Arshin Kulkarni got dismissed for a golden duck in his IPL debut in the opening over. Nuwan Thushara scythed his wicket, which marked his maiden wicket in the cash-rich league.
Jasprit Bumrah was kept silent in the powerplay as skipper KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis tried to help the team recover from the early blow.
They stitched a 58-run stand, which helped them cover the important part of the 145-run chase. Rahul looked rock solid in his 28-run knock before his counterpart Hardik Panday dismissed him.
Stoinis (62) continued to lead the charge with the bat from one end before Mohammad Nabi relied on his experience to end Australia’s stay on the crease.
LSG lost Ashton Turner and Ashton Turner in quick succession, but Nicholas Pooran stayed till the end to clinch the victory for the hosts.
This marked LSG’s sixth win at home and helped them move to the third spot with 12 points in 10 matches. MI stayed at the 9th spot with six points in 12 matches.
Earlier in the innings, for LSG, Mohsin Khan bagged two wickets, while Marcus Stoinis, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mayank Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi scalped one each. Wadhera scored a gritty 46, Ishan Kishan played a crucial knock of 32, and Tim David cracked a blistering 35 runs in 18 balls to power Mumbai to a competitive total.
Opting to bowl first, a brilliant catch by Marcus Stoinis off Mohsin Khan’s delivery marked an early end to Rohit Sharma‘s stay at the crease in the 2nd over.
LSG extended their strong start as Stoinis bagged the big wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, spoiling the hopes further for MI’s big powerplay total plans. In the 3rd over, Ravi Bishnoi completed a sensational direct hit to send Tilak Varma packing after scoring just 10 runs.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya struggled for form in IPL 2024, and the dismissal just hours after the T20 World Cup squad announcement was the last thing that he needed. LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq bamboozled Pandya completely, and KL Rahul made a sharp catch behind the stumps.
After Mumbai lost four wickets and slammed just 28 runs in the powerplay, Nehal Wadhera and Ishan Kishan, with their occasional boundaries, kept MI’s hopes alive.
In the 9th over, Kishan was given a lifeline as his catch was dropped by Ashton Turner on 8. Wadhera and Kishan tried to go for the big hits, but MI never recovered after losing four wickets in powerplay.
Ravi Bishnoi bagged his first wicket of the night as he removed Kishan for 32. In the 15th over, Wadhera hammered speedster Mayank Yadav for two maximums and one boundary, gathering 16 runs. Wadhera kept the run flow going for the MI, and the batter took Mumbai past the 100-run mark.
Mohsin’s sneering yorker ended Wadhera’s stay at the crease as the batter went back to the pavilion after scoring 46 runs. In the 19th over, Mayank Yadav joined the wicket-taking party as he removed new batter Mohammad Nabi for one run. After getting his first wicket, Mayank walked off the field without finishing his over.
In the last over, Tim David smoked Mohsin for 17 runs with the help of two boundaries, powering his team to 144/7 in 20 overs.
With PTI inputs
