"If he could have come 1-2 numbers early, he could have taken the match deeper" - Sachin Tendulkar on Marcus Stoinis amid IPL 2022
Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar was surprised to see Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis walk out to bat at No. 8 for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday.
LSG skipper KL Rahul said after the game that it was Lucknow's strategy to hold back Stoinis for the last five overs. The 32-year-old tried his best to take LSG over the line by smashing 38 runs off just 17 balls.
However, too much was left to do as RR won the game by three runs. In a video on his YouTube channel, Sachin Tendulkar opined that LSG should have sent Stoinis a bit earlier. He said:
"Stoinis came to bat low down the order and Lucknow even said that it was their strategy. But personally I felt had he come one-two numbers early, he could have taken the match deeper, hardly the difference was of 3-4 runs. But if a batter like Stoinis is batting at No. 8, it shows depth in Lucknow's batting. It is a dangerous side."
Sachin Tendulkar also feels Quinton de Kock didn't quite play his natural game against RR. The South African opener didn't get many balls to face, which is why he was under pressure. On this, Tendulkar said:
"Quinton de Kock played just 18 balls of the first 10 overs, which is less than 30 percent. His actual strength is to attack the pacers in the powerplay. But the first two wickets went early and even Holder was dismissed soon after. That created pressure on De Kock and he had to play a supporting role to Hooda. I think he didn't get enough strike."
Check out the updated IPL points table here.
Sachin Tendulkar on where KL Rahul went wrong against RR
KL Rahul had another forgettable outing at the Wankhede Stadium this season as he was dismissed for a golden duck by Trent Boult. The Kiwi pacer decided to come round the wicket on the very first ball and bowled a big booming inswinger that went through Rahul's defense.
Boult already bowled the ball of the year ✍️
#trentboult
#RRvLSG https://t.co/Hv2kjrdc0d
Sachin Tendulkar explained where the 29-year-old went wrong while negotiating Boult's swing. He stated:
"Trent Boult gave an incredible start to Rajasthan in the second half. When a left arm seamer comes round the wicket, it automatically becomes wide of crease. If the bowler is trying to bring the ball in from there, then it becomes a fantastic angle. Looking at the angle, the right-handed batter plants his left foot and that is exactly what happened with KL Rahul. He took his left leg too across."
Rahul and his men have now lost both their games played at the Wankhede Stadium so far this season.