While many were left stunned and speechless, mentor Gautam Gambhir made a motivating, yet in an anger toned speech in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) dressing room following their shameful, shocking loss against Gujarat Titans (GT) when LSG failed to chase down the target of 136 and lost by 7 runs.
On the two-paced, slow-ish track in Lucknow, the visitors produced a brilliant bowling and fielding performance to defend a low, under-par total of 135 even after LSG were 53/0 after the powerplay and skipper KL Rahul batted through most of the innings.
However, KL Rahul had slowed down after the powerplay, and the incoming batters – Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis et al – found it difficult to play their shots. LSG lost from a position where they needed 31 runs off 34 balls with 9 wickets in hand. That was really a difficult pill to swallow for captain KL Rahul, who got out in the last over and was short of words, and also for Gautam Gambhir, who gave a storming speech later on the in dressing room.
Gautam Gambhir’s dressing room speech has gone viral
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Gautam Gambhir can be heard saying to the LSG players:
“There is nothing wrong in losing. It is absolutely fine. One team has to win, one team has to lose. There is a lot wrong with giving up. Today, I thought we gave up. We were weak. Honestly, there is no place for weak in a tournament like IPL or in sports. That is where the problem is. We have beaten teams in this competition, we have played really good teams in this competition. But today, I thought, we lacked that game sense which was more important.”
Gautam Gambhir also respected the bowling effort of the Gujarat Titans bowlers to defend an under-par score.
“We knew they bowled well, we expected them to bowl well. It’s a world-class competition we play against international bowlers. We want people to challenge us, that is what we play the game for,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Despite the loss, LSG have reasons to feel good: with 4 wins in 7 matches, they are placed 4th on the points table. Their next match is against Punjab Kings, on Friday, in Mohali.
