Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) failed to defend a massive total of 228 runs, losing to Mumbai Indians (MI) by six wickets in Match 47 of the IPL 2026 season at Wankhede Stadium on Monday (May 4).
With this loss, LSG remain rooted to the bottom (10th place) of the points table, with 4 points from 9 games and a poor NRR of -1.076. This defeat, their 7th of the season, has put them in a near-elimination scenario.
Following the match, LSG head coach Justin Langer addressed a critical press conference, where he was questioned on Rishabh Pant's captaincy and poor batting form this season.
Pant’s move to constantly shuffle the batting order has become a topic of discussion. Against MI, he promoted Josh Inglis to open the innings alongside Mitchell Marsh, while Nicholas Pooran batted at No. 3 spot. The LSG skipper himself came out at No. 4 but scored only 15 runs before being dismissed.
When asked about Pant's underwhelming show, Langer revealed that the southpaw had played a quickfire knock of 95 runs in a practice game a couple of days earlier, but failed to replicate the same during the match.
"We played a practice game here two days ago, and Rishi (Rishabh Pant), I'm not sure of the exact final score, maybe 95 off 40 or 30 balls-you're just looking at it and you go, 'Oh my gosh, that's Rishabh Pant at his very best.'
"So, he's a very good player; we know that. We've seen him in Test cricket destroy teams at number five, and we felt today, given that and the way he played just two days ago after a seven-day break, that it might be a good option for the team," Langer told reporters.
Langer praised Pant’s "selfless" decision to drop himself in the batting order, which allowed Pooran to smash 63 off 21 balls while batting at one down slot.
"He selflessly moved down the order to let Nicky P bat, whose batting was unbelievable. So yeah, Rishi's not far off. As a captain in the IPL, or as a coach, you've got to keep fronting up, don't you? That's all you can do, and he'll keep fronting up and hopefully help us get some wins over the next few games," the coach stated.
After joining LSG for a record sum for INR 27 crore, Rishabh Pant failed to leave a mark in the 2025 season, scoring only 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.17.
In the ongoing IPL, the wicketkeeper-batter has amassed 204 runs in 9 innings with a strike rate of 128.30, including one half-century.
When asked if the title of being the 'most expensive player in IPL history' is weighing on Pant's shoulders, Langer replied: "Honestly, I don't think the money has anything to do with it; I don't think that has anything to do with it at all. What I do think is that leadership is a tough position, you're carrying lots of pressure, and he knows that."
"He's carrying a lot of pressure for the team, and he does it, like all of us, with a smile on his face 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time, it's tough. But he's chipping away, he's working hard and, as I say, he's had a match-winning game earlier in the season. We love it when we see him smiling and playing that swashbuckling style of play, and he's not far off," Langer explained.
