Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a crushing eight-wicket defeat to the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 40th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, with captain Rishabh Pant’s surprising decision to bat at No. 7 drawing sharp criticism from fans and experts alike.
Indian legend Anil Kumble questioned LSG’s tactical missteps, particularly the choice to demote Pant, who ended up scoring a two-ball duck in a match that exposed the team’s strategic disarray.
The match began promisingly for LSG, with openers Aiden Markram (52 runs off 33 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (45 runs off 36 balls) laying a solid foundation with an 87-run partnership for the first wicket, pushing the team to a comfortable position at the halfway mark. However, the innings unraveled after Markram’s departure, with LSG managing just 72 runs in the final 10 overs to finish at 159 runs for six wickets.
Rishabh Pant’s late entry, with only two balls remaining, baffled onlookers, as the explosive wicketkeeper-batter, acquired for a record-breaking INR 27 crore, was expected to bat in the middle order.
Kumble expressed frustration over LSG’s lack of clarity. Pant was seen in an intense chat with LSG’s mentor Zaheer Khan in the dugout before he came out to bat. Kumble cited this, stating that he feels Pant was wronged by the LSG management.
"It's alright if you want to come in under less pressure, but this was way too late. The kind of frustration Rishabh is showing is evident that he was wronged. He probably wanted to bat higher. Was it his decision? Or was it coach Justin Langer's? Or maybe mentor Zaheer Khan's? Whose decision was it? Because he looked very frustrated," Kumble said as quoted on Star Sports.
He also criticized Pant for showing frustration and said:
"You have to make peace in these situations. He is the captain. He has to take it in a positive way. Whatever frustration or anger he has, he should translate that into a positive performance."
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Rishabh Pant Explains His Demotion
In the post-match interview, Pant gave a reason behind his demotion in the batting order. He shared that the idea was to send an in-form Abdul Samad to capitalize on the start they had got.
"The idea was to capitalise. We sent Samad to capitalise on a wicket like that. After that, Miller came in and we just really got stuck in the wicket. Eventually, these are the things we've got to figure out and try to find our best combination going forward," Pant mentioned.
In IPL 2025, Pant has scored just 106 runs in eight innings at an average of 13.25 and a strike rate of 96.36. While LSG are still very much in contention for the playoffs, sitting in fifth place on the IPL 2025 points table, Pant as a batter would need to turn things around sooner rather than later.
LSG will next meet Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 27 at the Wankhede Stadium.
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