Naveen-ul-Haq’s latest celebration grabs headlines during IPL 2023 Eliminator
Naveen again hit headlines for a KL Rahul-like celebration after dismissing Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Cameron Green in the IPL 2023 Eliminator.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has been making headlines since his spat with Virat Kohli earlier this month. On Wednesday evening, he hit the headlines again for his KL Rahul-like celebration after dismissing Mumbai Indian skipper Rohit Sharma early in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Eliminator in Chennai. The right-handed Tej put his fingers inside his ears and closed his eyes, just like LSG skipper Rahul does after scoring a century.
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event happened in 4th Over of Mumbai Indians’ innings. Rohit walks down the line to drive a length ball over cover. However, he could not find the height and lofted it straight to Ayush Badoni. That’s how Naveen got his team the early success and instead of celebrating, the Afghan pacer decided to take it easy like Rahul.
The Afghan pacer returned in the 11th over and clean bowled all-rounder Cameron Green who was on his way to his half-century. Naveen-ul-Haq, sick, lofted the off-cutter to fuller length, beating Green’s loose drive. The ball went through the gap between the bat and the pad and hit the middle stump.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Off-spinner Ritik Shokeen replaced left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh in the playing XI, with Tilak Verma also returning in place of Nehal Wadhera, the Mumbai Indians captain said.
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“The boys are very excited about it. Here we are. It was a long journey with ups and downs and because of it we learned a lot about our team as well. We are ready for this game,” said Rohit.
Lucknow captain Krunal Pandya said that he too would have preferred to bat first.
“It has been a season of ups and downs, but we have fought and never given up. We have got really good match-winners.
“Where we are, it’s a whole team effort, it’s not one or two individuals. We would have batted as well but at the end of the day you have to play good cricket. That’s what matters.
The winner of the Eliminator will play against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, while the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
(with agency inputs)
