New Delhi. The current season of IPL is bringing new challenges for Lucknow Super Giants star player Krunal Pandya. Already struggling with poor batting form in IPL 2023, Krunal now has to go through the ‘difficult test’ of captaincy. Due to regular captain KL Rahul being out of the tournament due to injury, he has got this captaincy ‘crown of thorns’. With the new responsibility of captaincy, it is not going to be easy for Krunal to regain his lost form in batting. The matches ahead of IPL (IPL 2023) will decide whether Krunal will prove to be true in front of this double challenge or will be scattered.
Lucknow Supergiants currently have 11 points in 11 matches with five wins and as many losses. Their match with Chennai Super Kings could not be completed due to rain and the team is currently third in the points table. In IPL 2023, Lucknow Supergiants started well by winning three out of their first four matches but the team soon lost track Went.
Meanwhile, ‘Senior Pandya’ was seen struggling with the bat. Whatever was left undone by KL Rahul’s injury. Krunal will have to get his lost batting form as soon as possible, along with taking the team on the path of victory under his captaincy.
Rain saved from defeat in first match as captain
On 3 May, Krunal made his debut as the captain of LSG in the match against Chennai Super Kings. In the match, he got out on his very first ball and LSG could manage only 125 runs losing seven wickets in 20 overs. May he be the one who saved the Lucknow team standing on the verge of defeat from a possible defeat in this match. Krunal is the third player to be dismissed for a golden duck on his IPL debut as captain, the first being Adam Markram (against LSG) of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the same season and VVS Laxman as captain of Deccan Chargers in IPL 2008. Got out on ‘Golden Duck’ in his first match.
‘Golden Duck’ in two consecutive matches as captain
The story of Krunal’s second match as captain of LSG was even more disappointing. In this match against Gujarat Giants on Sunday also, Krunal scored a ‘Golden Duck’ and LSG faced a crushing 56-run defeat against younger brother Hardik Pandya’s team. Lucknow Supergiants have to play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 13th May in Hyderabad. In this match, Krunal will have the challenge of not only as a batsman but also as the captain of the IPL team, to avoid the ‘hat-trick’ of the ‘Golden Duck’. Even as the captain, the team is expecting victory from him. Let me tell you, in IPL 2023, Krunal has been dismissed for 0 thrice so far.
Only 122 runs have been scored in 11 matches so far.
Krunal Pandya, the key player of Lucknow Supergiants, has so far scored 122 runs in 11 matches in IPL 2023 at an average of 15.25, during which his highest score is 34 runs. With his spin bowling, he has taken 6 wickets at an average of 32.33. LSG has retained Krunal for this season for Rs 8.25 crores, it is natural that the franchise is expecting much better performance from Krunal.
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Tags: IPL 2023, Krunal Pandya, Lucknow Super Giants
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 08, 2023, 17:48 IST