Watch: Following the SRH thrashing, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka is seen arguing with KL Rahul, which delights online users

In a pivotal match between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Lucknow Super Giants in the playoff race, the KL Rahul-led LSG chose to bat first. To be honest, this was not shocking to many, given the deadly displays the SRH hitters have produced this season after being given the chance to express themselves at the bat first.

In the world of sports, winning and losing are essential elements that weave the fabric of competition. They tell the story of the voyages of athletes, symbolizing the ups and downs of sports endeavors. In many sports, including cricket, there must be a winning team and a losing team at the conclusion of the day. Each team has its moments on the field, and the team with the highest number of favorable moments typically prevails.

Especially in a franchise league like the Indian Premier League, where no team can be written off at any point, decimations are a rare and elusive occurrence that highlight the intense competition ingrained in the tournament since its very first season back in 2008. Nevertheless, IPL 2024’s Match 57 proved to be a historical turning point for one team and a record-breaking, history-bending victory for the other.

This is just pathetic from @LucknowIPL owner
Never saw SRH management with players on the field or even closer to dressing room irrespective of so many bad seasons and still face lot of wrath for getting involved. Just look at this @klrahul leave this shit next year #SRHvsLSG pic.twitter.com/6NlAvHMCjJ

— SRI (@srikant5333) May 8, 2024

By 10 wickets, SRH defeated LSG.

A record fifth-wicket stand between LSG’s new IPL captain, Ayush Badoni, and Nicholas Pooran set up a 166-run goal for the visitors following a sluggish Rahul innings of 29 (33), Quinton de Kock, and Marcus Stoinis’ subpar performances. With the exception of the opening over of the inning, when they only achieved eight runs, southpaws Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head went absolutely crazy.

The powerplay alone saw 107 being destroyed, so it was a piece of cake for the explosive pair, whose 75* (28) and 89* (30) helped SRH take down the total in two deliveries less than halfway through. They did not spare anyone off the hook, hitting Badoni, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveel-ul-Haq, and Krishnappa Gowtham to every inch of the ground and beyond.

Also read: “His career has been fast-tracked,” Tom Moody says of Abhishek Sharma after his incredible performance against LSG

What happened next, though, stunned some, left others confused, and made the majority of spectators and viewers extremely resentful. The 63-year-old Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of LSG, was spotted with Rahul on the sidelines after the humiliation, along with his wife Preeti. Many people took offense at Goenka’s seemingly overly excited demeanor and his alleged schoolboy-like behavior toward experienced Rahul and other players.

No matter how bad each team has played on any given day, there has never been an owner-skipper combination like the one involving Sanjiv Goenka and KL Rahul. Goenka’s unwavering determination to get his point across to a seasoned professional cricket player of Rahul’s caliber infuriated online users.