‘He needs to wake up’ – Kevin Pietersen slams Ambati Rayudu for his running between the wickets against RCB

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), continuing their woeful run, suffered yet another defeat while chasing in the on-going IPL 2020. Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Saturday, thrashed CSK by 37 runs to plunge more misery on the three-time champions.

One of the most consistent sides of the IPL, CSK have registered only two victories this season in seven games so far. If they want to book a Playoff berth, MS Dhoni’s men will have to pull up their socks and deliver in their remaining games and script a turnaround in the latter phase of the tournament.

Talking about CSK’s drubbing against RCB, their batting, yet again, fizzled out against the asking run-rate. While chasing 170, the Chennai batting unit showed very little intent, ending up amassing only 132/8 in their stipulated 20 overs. Right from the start, CSK batsmen failed to put their foot on the accelerator.

The asking run-rate kept on climbing and CSK ultimately succumbed to the pressure, handing a 37-run victory to the Virat Kohli-led side. Following CSK’s defeat, former England international Kevin Pietersen was not impressed with Ambati Rayudu’s running between the wickets.

I don’t care who you are, you have to watch the best: Kevin Pietersen
Rayudu came in the middle in the fourth over and was dismissed in the 18th over. Despite staying at the crease for so long, the right-hander didn’t show any urgency with his willow. He ended up scoring only 42 runs while facing 40 deliveries.

Pietersen slammed Rayudu for not even trying to take a double during the eighth over of the innings. While his partner N. Jagadeesan had already completed the first run and tried to take a double, Rayudu was yet to complete the first run.

“Ambati Rayudu needs to wake up a little bit. You see the best players in the world, they run between the wickets, they push the sweepers hard. When you are chasing these kind of numbers, I don’t care who you are, you have to watch the best and the best sprint between the wickets,” Kevin Pietersen said on-air.

“Watch Kohli, watch de Villiers, watch du Plessis, Warner, Bairstow, they set the standards, you’ve got to follow,” he added.