The action returned in the sixteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a doubleheader on Saturday. The day’s first game saw Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 7 wickets in a dominant batting performance. The second game featured the Delhi Capitals hosting the Punjab Kings in the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Regarding the first game, SRH decided to sit out their fastest bowler, Umran Malik. Following the decision, Irfan Pathan chose to weigh in with his opinion. Irfan Pathan was the coach of Jammu and Kashmir when Umran Malik first appeared on the IPL stage. Irfan is disappointed that SRH hasn’t used the quick bowler in recent games because he knew him very well. The former Indian pacer said on Twitter, “League’s fastest bowler sitting out baffles me. Umran Malik wasn’t handled well by his team.”
LSG defeated SRH by 7 wickets in IPL 2023
Talking of the game, SRH won the toss and decided to bat first. They posted a competitive 182/6 within their 20 overs, riding on handy contributions from Heinrich Klaasen (47 off 29), Abdul Samad (37 off 25) and Anmolpreet Singh (36 off 27). For LSG, skipper Krunal Pandya returned with the best bowling figures of 2/24 in his four overs, while four of their bowlers scalped one wicket apiece.
In reply, LSG chased the target down with four balls to spare. Prerak Mankad remained not out at 64 off 45 while Nicholas Pooran played one of his signature knocks, slamming 44* off 13 to take their team over the finish line by 7 wickets. For SRH, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Markande and Abhishek Sharma returned with one wicket each.
Next, in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, fans will be treated to another doubleheader on Sunday. The first game will see Rajasthan Royals (RR) host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a must-win match at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The second game post a similar situation for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who’ll be hosted by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Here’s how fans reacted to Irfan Khan’s statements:
Don't do favour of him.
His performance was 0— Pawan Vishwakarma (@pwnmagic333) May 13, 2023
Did they handle well the eleven they fielded?#SRHvsLSG #LSGvsSRH
— Jitender Girdhar (@JGirdhar01) May 13, 2023
Bhuvi is the only player this team handled well
— Kaushik Pabbu Ramesh (@kaushikpr94) May 13, 2023
Irfan bhai, you hype him too much. Too many 20+ run overs for SRH and India. He has quality but he needs work. Please
— Chandrakanth S (@MelomaniacGuy) May 13, 2023
That team cannot handle anything
— Taukir (@iitaukir) May 13, 2023
Rather than saying hadn’t well, have some guts to say that he has bowled substandard bowling
— Sujal (@Sujal_Pandey07) May 13, 2023
Agree ! Waste of a top wicket taking resource. Audience would have loved him bowling at 155kmph too. Wasted opportunity
— Amitabh Verma (@amitabh26) May 13, 2023
A team that can Let go RASHID KHAN can do anything. I thought KKR Management is terrible bht SRH Management is the worst of them all.
— Waqar Afridi (@WakaAfridi) May 13, 2023
