Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a crushing 54-run defeat in their IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Sunday (April 19).

Riding on half-centuries from Priyansh Arya (93 off 37) and Cooper Connolly (87 off 46), PBKS racked up a massive 254/7 on the board.

In reply, LSG could manage just 200/5 in 20 overs with Rishabh Pant (43), Mitchell Marsh (40) and Aiden Markram (42) providing some resistance.

After the loss, skipper Pant addressed query on his left elbow injury, noting that it was improving but joked about the "new tattoo", referring to a fresh injury.

“I think the left hand is getting better, but I got a new tattoo (injury on the right hand) today, so I think something to look forward for me again,” Pant said at the post-match presentation.

Despite the heavy loss, the southpaw focused on the positives in their batting and credited the opposition for playing "good hard cricket".

“See, it's difficult to point out one area because, bowlers have been putting up a nice show, but at the same time, there are areas of concern. But there were some positives for us also to work around. There was some glimpse of batting, what we talked about. Definitely look to take some positives, but at the same time, as a team, we're going to do well each and every match,” Pant stated.

“(You got the players to turn it around) Definitely, we believe in this team for sure. But at the same time when the opposition is playing well, like Punjab is playing now, you've got to give credit to them for playing good hard cricket also,” he remarked.

Rishabh Pant also explained the tactical decision to promote Ayush Badoni as opener during their colossal chase against PBKS.

“I think the idea was to just go out there and play freely. It wasn't taken just today. It was pre-decided that he's going to open. It was just something we kept inside. We wanted some freedom on the top order and just (the) middle order wanted to chip in,” Pant said.

With this loss, LSG slipped to the 8th position in the IPL 2026 standings. They have lost four of their six matches in the tournament so far.

LSG's next opportunity to climb the table will be against the Rajasthan Royals on April 22 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.