'We never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in': KL Rahul blames top-order batters for a lacklustre IPL season

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a 19-run loss against Delhi Capitals (DC) and are almost out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoff race. On a high-scoring track, LSG suffered a collapse in the powerplay overs and failed to chase down the target of 209. LSG skipper KL Rahul was left disheartened after the loss and blamed top-order batters for a lacklustre season.
 

“We did well at the back end and 200 was a par total, we should have chased it down. This has been a problem right through the season - we keep losing a lot of wickets in the powerplay, we never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in, that is the big reason why we are in this position,” Rahul told the broadcasters after the defeat at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. 
 

Rahul felt that the conditions were great to bat on. He also rued the opportunity to put pressure on DC after getting the wicket of Jake Fraser-McGurk for a two-ball duck.
 

“I feel the wicket remained the same throughout the 40 overs. When we got Jake Fraser-McGurk out in the first over we should have capitalised, but they - Hope and Porel - showed a lot of intent,” he said. 
 

Rahul failed to shine with the bat. He got off the mark with a boundary but was deceived by Ishant Sharma's outswinger and handed an easy catch to Mukesh Kumar in the first over. Ishant took two more wickets to put LSG on the back foot in the powerplay overs. While Stoinis departed for a single-digit score, Pooran scored a quickfire half-century. 
 

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Playoff spot almost out of reach

LSG stayed at seventh on the points table. This was their seventh loss from 13 games. Their net run rate (NRR) is now -0.787. They will face Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on May 17. The Hardik Pandya-led side is already out of playoff contention. Even if LSG win by a massive margin, their NRR is unlikely to not help qualify for the top four. Also, this will be the first time LSG would not qualify for playoffs. 
 

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