Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) got thrashed from Mumbai Indians by 81 runs in the Eliminator clash of IPL 2023 on Wednesday (May 24). They were bundled out for just 101 runs in the 17th over while chasing 183 runs on a slow pitch in Chennai. Clearly, LSG’s batting line-up couldn’t handle the heat in the 183-run chase. One key player missing from their playing XI for the crunch game was Quinton de Kock. Many were surprised to not see the left-hander’s name in the XI at the start of the match and certainly his aggression was missed at the top.
Opening up on the decision, Krunal Pandya admitted that the decision to leave out De Kock was not easy but they preferred Kyle Mayers only because his record was good at the Chepauk. Notably, Mayers had scored 53 runs off just 22 balls the last time he played at the Chepauk. “Quinton de Kock is a quality batter, but Mayers has a better record here, so we went ahead (in the playing XI) with him. It’s always a tough decision,” Krunal said.
In the hindsight, it felt like De Kock was missed at the top. He didn’t play many games this season for LSG with Kyle Mayers starting the IPL 2023 well with his aggressive batting. But in four matches he scored 143 runs including a 70-run knock against the defending champions Gujarat Titans. On the other hand, Mayers’ form tapered off as the season progressed. His last five scores, including the one against MI in Eliminator, read – 18, 2, 48, 14 and 0.
Speaking about the game, Krunal Pandya felt that things went wrong after he played a bad shot with the bat when a decent partnership was going on between him and Marcus Stoinis. “We were in a good position at one stage, but everything started (going wrong) when I played that shot, we should have played better cricket. That shot (his wicket) was not on, I completely take the blame for that. The ball was coming nicely on to the bat, we just had to bat better. We didn’t play good cricket after that strategic break,” he added.
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