Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir reckons they gave up and were weak against Gujarat Titans after they suffered a huge loss of 62 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Tuesday.
LSG were bundled out for a paltry score of 82 runs after they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
In fact, LSG bowlers had done a decent job of restricting the opposition at 144-4 and they should have come up with a better batting show. Gambhir believes winning and losing are part and parcel of the game but giving up is never an option in a big tournament like the IPL.
LSG batters didn’t show any resistance in the second innings as they crumbled like a pack of cards. Deepak Hooda scored 27 runs but none of the other batters could get going in the run chase, which was disappointing for LSG.
It was a difficult pitch to bat on against the spinners but LSG batters threw down the towel as they couldn’t get any momentum.
“There is nothing wrong in losing. It is absolutely fine. One team has to win, one team has to lose. There is a lot wrong in giving up. Today, I thought we gave up. We were weak,” Gambhir said in a video shared by the franchise on YouTube.
“We knew they bowled well, we expected them to bowl well. It’s a world-class competition we play against international bowlers. We want people to challenge us, that is what we play the game for,” Gambhir added.
On the other hand, Rashid Khan wreaked havoc as the talisman leg-spinner returned with his best bowling performance in the IPL as he took 4-24. Furthermore, Yash Dayal and R Sai Kishore bagged two wickets apiece for Gujarat Titans.
There is no doubt it was a poor batting performance from Lucknow Super Giants as they were blown away in the second innings and they will need to bounce back stronger in the upcoming matches. The KL Rahul-led team will next face Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.
