New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta has raised questions over Lucknow Super Giants’ tactical calls in their Super Over defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, stating that sending out-of-form Nicholas Pooran to bat in the Super Over ahead of Mitchell Marsh was a ‘huge mistake.’
Analysing LSG’s narrow loss in Lucknow, Dasgupta pointed to both execution and decision-making lapses, particularly in the Super Over, where the team faltered under pressure despite having a strong batting line-up.
“LSG had two back-to-back games, one against RR and one against KKR, where they should have won. I understand that against Kolkata, it wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on, but you would expect them to chase 155 comfortably. Not being able to chase with that kind of batting order is not good for the morale of their dressing room,” Dasgupta told JioStar.
“You know quite well that your batters are unable to score runs and on top of that, you made a huge mistake of sending someone like Nicholas Pooran to bat in the Super Over ahead of Mitchell Marsh, who has been their top run-getter this season. Mitchell Marsh, Himmat Singh and Aiden Markram should have been the ideal three batters to play in the Super Over. Instead, they sent an under-confident Pooran. In T20 cricket, losing close games like these back-to-back can break a team’s season. LSG need to fix their batting order and decision-making quickly, or the Playoffs will slip away,” he added.
LSG, who failed to chase a modest target and then managed just one run in the Super Over, have now slipped under pressure in the points table, with concerns mounting over their batting order and on-field calls in crunch situations.
Turning his attention to the upcoming fixture between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals, Dasgupta said that the defending champions appear better placed than the hosts, especially in terms of momentum and overall balance, despite a few minor concerns.
“I think RCB have the edge ahead of their match against DC because DC are short on confidence, especially after the way they lost their last match against Punjab. Not being able to defend a score of 264 hurts your team’s morale. That said, when you score 260-plus, it shows you’re doing something right. It’s not like you’re playing bad cricket. But their bowling wasn’t up to the mark in that game, and their fielding was subpar as well.
“Delhi will need both these departments to perform if they want to beat Bengaluru. RCB are playing an incredible brand of cricket right now. Their bowling seems to be on point. The only thing that might worry them is the absence of Phil Salt at the top. But they have Jacob Bethell, who became a star in the T20 World Cup. Him forming a left-hand right-hand opening combination with Virat Kohli could work wonders for them against Delhi,” he stated.
–IANS
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