After five times winners Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator match on Wednesday, and their captain Krunal Pandya took full responsibility and also talked about the non-selection of South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton De Kock for the eliminator match. De Kock was overlooked by LSG, and they added West Indies star player Kyle Mayers to the playing 11, who opened the innings along with Prerak Mankad.
Sehwag slammed LSG for their decision
Mayers was preferred over Quinton De Kock because of his great batting record at Chepauk Stadium. Earlier this season, against Chennai Super Kings, Mayer slammed an important half century for the team. However, Mayers failed to perform well in the eliminators for the team and got dismissed after making 18 runs out of 13 balls. Reflecting on LSG’s performance against MI, India’s veteran and legendary batsman Virendra Sehwag slammed the team for their decision to neglect De Kock.
Sehwag’s Statement
In an interview, Virender Sehwag said-“Even I have a good record of 319 runs in Chennai, it doesn’t mean that even today I will go there and score well. Batter’s current form also matters, and I feel LSG dug their own grave by dropping De Kock from the playing eleven. Mayers is the second-highest run scorer for LSG this season, as he made 379 runs in 13 matches. On the other hand, De Kock played only four matches for the team and made 143 runs, which also included a half century against the defending champions, the Gujarat Titans.
The team had a good start
LSG’s team had a good start in the beginning of this season as they won back to back matches, but as the season progressed, the team started to fall behind. The worst thing that could ever happen was their skipper KL Rahul’s injury, due to which he was out of the IPL, and Krunal Pandya was made captain in his place. Although the team won a few matches after and managed to qualify for the playoffs, a few selection decisions to play 11 led the team to their defeat.
KL Rahul’s absence affected the team
While batting first, MI’s batters succeeded in putting a score of 182 on the board, and in return, LSG could only make 101 runs because the team got all out in just 16.3 overs. MI’s bowler Akash Madhwal’s sensational bowling spell led Mumbai to the win. The absence of KL Rahul also affected LSG, both as a captain and an opening batsman. Today MI is going to face Gujarat Titans in the qualifier 2, and the winner will face Chennai Super Kings in the finals on Sunday at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Also read:- AB DE VILLIERS REVEALS ABOUT DHONI AND CSK’S INTIMIDATING SIDE