IPL 2025 ka josh apne charam par hai, lekin Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ke liye season ki shuruaat kuch khaas nahi rahi. Apne hi ghar Ekana Stadium mein, unhe Punjab Kings (PBKS) ke haathon 8-wicket se karari haar ka samna karna pada. Is match ke baad, team ke mentor aur former pacer Zaheer Khan ne pitch preparation ko lekar khulkar apna gussa zahir kiya.
“Thoda disappointing laga mujhe, kyunki yeh humara home game tha… IPL mein aapne dekha hai ki teams thoda home advantage leti hain. Yahaan toh aisa lag raha tha jaise Punjab ke curator ne pitch banayi ho,” Zaheer ne post-match press conference mein kaha.
Zaheer ne ye bhi kaha ki naye setup ke chalte yeh confusion hua ho sakta hai, lekin umeed hai ki aisa dobara na ho. Lucknow ke fans apni team se badi umeedein le kar aaye the, lekin unhe nirasha haath lagi.
“Umeed karta hoon ki yeh pehla aur aakhri aisa match ho, kyunki Lucknow ke fans yeh deserve nahi karte. Woh jeet dekhna chahte the, lekin yeh pitch ne unhe niraash kiya,” unhone kaha.
Team ka morale lekin abhi bhi high hai. Zaheer ne kaha ki team haar ko accept karti hai aur aage behtar karne ke liye taiyaar hai.
“Team confident hai. Humne match haara, lekin abhi 6 home games bache hain aur hum poori koshish karenge fans ko jeet ka taste dene ki,” Zaheer ne bataya.
Zaheer ne ye bhi saaf kiya ki woh kisi bahane ke saath nahi aaye hain. Lekin jo unhe bataya gaya tha pitch ke baare mein, uske hisaab se yeh match bilkul alag nikla.
“Curator jo bolta hai, usi par hum bharosa karte hain. Yeh excuse nahi hai. Cricket mein kabhi kabhi aise surprises milte hain. Lekin home ground pe support milna chahiye, har kisi ka contribution zaruri hai,” unka kehna tha.
Waise, Zaheer Khan pehle insaan nahi hain jo pitch se naraaz dikh rahe hain. Isse pehle Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) aur Stephen Fleming (CSK) bhi pitch ko lekar apni naraazgi jata chuke hain. Ab dekhna yeh hoga ki 4 April ko Mumbai Indians ke khilaf hone wale match mein pitch ka swabhav badalta hai ya nahi.
Toh dosto, kya Lucknow pitch LSG ke liye ‘home advantage’ ban payegi ya yeh sirf ek aur ‘away’ match jaisa lagega? Waqt hi batayega!
