Zaheer Khan Expresses Disappointment with LSG's Home Conditions
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), India, April 2 (ANI): Additionally, IPL The home team has been left disappointed by the circumstances at their own venue. After suffering an eight-wicket loss with 22 balls remaining in their initial match played at home this season, the Lucknow Super Giants have faced challenges. LSG ) mentor Zaheer Khan commented that it seemed like the opposition had hired their own curator to set up the pitch, similar to what was reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"What slightly let me down here..." Zaheer stated during the post-match press briefing, according to ESPNcricinfo.
"Given that it's a home game and in IPL You've noticed how some teams have tried to gain a slight edge with home-field advantage. From this perspective, you can see that the curator doesn’t truly consider it a home game. It seemed more like the work of the Punjab curator,” he mentioned additionally.
"That’s an issue we’ll work out. This setup is new to me, but I’m hoping this will be the initial and final instance where it occurs. After all, you’re also letting down the Lucknow supporters. They have high hopes for winning their first match at home," he pointed out.
As a group, we remain confident. Although we acknowledge the loss of the match, we must strive to create an impact during the home leg. There are still six additional games left for us to play here, and throughout the season thus far, whenever cricket was played, our team demonstrated the appropriate attitude and mental approach needed." IPL "What you can anticipate is innovative ideas, thinking beyond conventional boundaries, our determination, and our drive—that’s what encapsulates us as a team," he stated.
Due to injuries restricting their choices for fast bowling, LSG may have favored a setup that was more accommodating for spinners or at least didn’t favor the Punjab Kings as much. PBKS ) pace attack. Nevertheless, they deployed only two main quick bowlers, with Shardul Thakur being a late inclusion, and their roster includes just one foreign fast bowler—Shamar Joseph.
PBKS Capitalizing on the circumstances at hand, their fast three-pronged attack featuring Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, and Marco Jansen, amassed figures of 5/112 from 13 overs. Additionally, Marcus Stoinis contributed by bowling another two overs.
Zaheer admitted he had misunderstood the condition of the pitch and stated, “This is exactly what we’re trying to convey. We’ll proceed based on what the curator informs us. This isn’t being used as an excuse. Over the past season, we’ve noticed that batsmen often face challenges even when playing here. These situations are part of cricket. However, people must understand how crucial it is for supporters to back their home team. It’s essential to recognize that this match involves our hometown players competing in Lucknow. What steps can be taken to assist them in securing victory? Every individual effort counts. Regardless, we'll figure out a strategy to secure wins…”
Even LSG Captain Rishabh Pant acknowledged during the post-game interview that they anticipated a slower pitch, resulting in their choice to substitute seamer Prince Yadav with spinner M Siddharth.
The plan was to prepare a pitch with slower pace. Since it was our home match, we expected the ball to grip more. Even though the deliveries stuck when aimed at the middle of the pitch, we didn’t perform well enough on that particular day. We must take this as a learning experience and progress from here. This being our initial home game, we’re still evaluating the playing conditions,” stated Pant.
LSG now becomes part of the Kolkata Knight Riders ( KKR ) and Chennai Super Kings ( CSK ) when voicing worries about the state of their home pitch. KKR as previously mentioned, they desired courts that were more favorable for spinning techniques but had no influence over the preparation process, whereas CSK --proud of having the top home win-loss record in IPL Over the past two years, they have faced challenges in forecasting the situation at their venue. (ANI)