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Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul’s luck fade out quite early on Saturday as he was dismissed on a diamond duck against Kolkata Knight Riders at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
It was an unfortunate start for LSG as their skipper didn’t even get the chance to face a delivery as a direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended his stay on a duck.
It was the fifth ball of the innings when Quinton de Kock drove Harshit Rana’s delivery on the cover and looked for a single but stopped after taking an initial step. However, Rahul was halfway down the pitch and KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer picked the ball and fired a throw at the bowler’s end which directly hit the stumps. Rahul tried to cover the ground but failed by some inches. De Kock was disappointed with himself after a poor communication between him and Rahul cost the latter’s wicket.
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It was the third duck for Rahul this season as earlier he registered a golden duck each against Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against Lucknow Super Giants. KKR suffered a huge blow as in-form pacer Umesh Yadav, who was phenomenal for them this season in the powerplay overs, pulled his calf muscle. Harshit got the chance in place of Umesh in the XI for the Saturday’s clash.
Meanwhile, LSG also made a change as Avesh Khan returned to the side in place of Krishnappa Gowtham.
LSG skipper KL Rahul said that the players are fresh after a brief break and raring to give their 100 per cent on Saturday.
“We haven’t played too many games here. From whatever we have seen on the TV, it has been sticky and hasn’t been a high scoring venue. But it gives us a good opportunity as a batting unit to come out and put up a competitive total on the board. We have to assess the conditions and put a challenging total on the board. We have one change – Avesh comes in for Gowtham. That’s what gives us confidence and that’s what we want to be as a team, performing as a team and not rely on one or two players. We have had a couple of days break, the body is fresh and looking forward to going out there and giving our 100 per cent,’ Rahul said.
