LSG's Batting Performance Draws Ire from Matthew Hayden

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden has expressed his disappointment over Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) batting performance in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). LSG failed to accelerate despite losing only four wickets during their innings, ending up with a below-par score of 165 runs in 20 overs.

Hayden, who was on commentary during the match, criticized LSG's lack of intent and slow powerplay. He emphasized that against a team with dangerous batters like Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, LSG should have aimed for a score of 160-170 runs.

"I have to call them out. This is not a five runs per over wicket. Somebody needed to show intent. They had one of the slowest powerplays. That took the innings nowhere. When the opposition team has Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, your intention should be to go at 10s and over. 160-170 will never be enough," Hayden said.

LSG captain KL Rahul admitted that his team was "lost for words" after the carnage from the SRH batters. Head and Abhishek Sharma took the LSG bowlers to the cleaners, leading SRH to a comfortable victory in just 9.4 overs.

"We have watched that kind of batting on TV. But this is unreal batting. Everything seemed to find the middle of the bat. Kudos to their skills. They have worked hard on their six-hitting skills. They didn't give us a chance to know what the pitch played in the second innings," Rahul said.

Rahul also acknowledged that LSG was short on runs and that the team's momentum was hampered by the loss of wickets in the powerplay.

"Was hard to stop them as they teed off from ball one. Once you are on the losing side, there are question marks on the decisions taken. We were 40-50 runs short. When we lost wickets in the powerplay, we couldn't get any momentum. Ayush and Nicky batted well to get us to 166. But even if we would have got 240, they could have chased it as well," Rahul added.

Tags: #IPL2024, #LucknowSuperGiants, #SunrisersHyderabad, #MatthewHayden, #BattingPerformance