Sachin Tendulkar blasts KL Rahul on Twitter for poor captaincy in Mumbai defeat

For a team that came into Dream11 IPL 2020 highly favoured, Punjab have not lived up to expectations. Coming off an eight-match winning streak from their last stint in the UAE in 2014, the Punjab side would've hoped to remain unbeaten in 2020. However, those aspirations were put to rest in the very first match, when Punjab lost to Delhi in a thrilling and controversial match.

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Punjab's run in Dream11 IPL 2020 so far

Punjab's first match in Dream11 IPL 2020 saw Mayank Agarwal register his highest score of the tournament when he made 89 off 60 deliveries. Mohammed Shami also recorded a brilliant 3/15 - his best at the tournament - but in vain. A controversial short-run call by the umpires and consecutive wickets in the last over meant Punjab ended up going into a Super Over. KL Rahul's captaincy was called into question when the in-form Mayank Agarwal did not come out to bat. Punjab lost two wickets and scored only two runs in the Super Over. 

Punjab made a comeback in their next match, defeating Virat Kohli's Bangalore by a massive 97-run margin. KL Rahul mustered 132* from 69 balls - the highest score in the IPL by an Indian. Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin took three wickets each to add to the win. In their third encounter, Tewatia's heroics stole the show and the game from Punjab, as he hit Sheldon Cottrell for five 6s in the 18th over to take Rajasthan home. 

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Sachin's critique of KL Rahul's captaincy against Mumbai

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Unable to shake off their bad luck, Punjab suffered another bad loss to Mumbai. Cottrell gave his side a good start, dismissing Quinton de Kock for a duck in the first over. Power hitter Suryakumar Yadav also fell cheaply, making just 10 runs before being run out by Shami. From 21/2 in four overs, Mumbai ended the innings at 191/4. Captain Rohit Sharma made a brilliantly paced 70-run contribution to this total, but the extra damage was done by the finishing duo, Pollard and Pandya.

This time Sachin Tendulkar had something to say to KL Rahul for his decision to send off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham for the final over. The 'Master Blaster' summed up his feelings about this decision with a facepalm emoji. Gowtham gave away 25 runs, including 3 consecutive sixes in the final over, allowing Pollard and Pandya to give Mumbai the push they needed for the win. Rahul's decision was questioned by others as well. Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya's 67 runs off of 23 balls proved to be the straw that broke Punjab's back. 

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Image Credits: BCCI & KL Rahul Twitter