Gautam Gambhir lashes out on KL Rahul for slow batting in the Eliminator

The KL Rahul-led Lucknow team was defeated by Bangalore in the eliminator of the Indian T20 League 2022. While the Bangalore team had a great day on the field, Lucknow could have been more proactive with their batting while chasing a steep target of 208 runs. The team skipper was the highest run-scorer in the chase, but his knock was not the quickest.

Post the match the visuals of Gautam Gambhir, Lucknow's mentor, and KL Rahul having a conversation went viral over the internet. Although what transpired between the two is not known, the fans have speculated that the former expressed his disappointment with the latter's slow batting approach.

In the innings, KL Rahul scored 79 runs in 58 balls at a strike rate of 136.2. He hit three fours and five sixes in the innings. Many pundits of the game argued that his batting could have had more intent while chasing a mammoth total.

In the meantime, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik were the stars with the bat for Bangalore. The former started smacking the ball over the boundary right from the word go and reached his brilliant century. He became the first uncapped player to hit a century (112 runs in 54 balls)in the playoffs in the history of the tournament. On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik played a perfect cameo of 37 runs in 23 balls.

However, in the chase, except for a partnership between Deepak Hooda and KL Rahul, nobody could contribute significantly. As a result, the men in turquoise fell short by 14 runs. Thus, they have been eliminated from the tournament.

Bangalore will now face Rajasthan in the tournament's second qualifier on May 27th at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The winner of the qualifier will face Gujarat in the final on May 29th at the same venue. For the first time since 2016, someone other than Mumbai and Chennai will win the tournament. Rajasthan previously won the tournament in 2008, while Gujarat and Bangalore will battle for their first crown.