Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were officially eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoffs race after a five-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on Sunday (May 10).
Invited to bat first, LSG racked up 203/8 on the board. Josh Inglis smashed 33-ball 85 to set the tone, while Shahbaz Ahmed provided late impetus with a cameo of 43* in 25 balls.
In reply, the hosts overhauled the target with four deliveries to spare. Urvil Patel stole the show with a brutal knock of 23-ball 65, while Ruturaj Gaikwad contributed 42 off 28 balls. Despite a mini-collapse, Prashant Veer (18*) and Shivam Dube (15*) held their nerve to seal the chase for CSK.
Despite posting 203, LSG’s defeat was attributed to their failure to capitalize with the bat in middle overs after Inglis laid down a perfect platform. From 112/2 at the end of the ninth over, they found themselves reeling at 154/6 by the end of the 15th.
As their middle order endured another collapse, skipper Rishabh Pant’s performance came under scrutiny once again. The southpaw was dismissed for 15 off 12 balls by Jamie Overton.
After joining LSG for a record sum for INR 27 crore, Pant couldn’t leave a mark in the IPL 2025, scoring only 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.17. The wicketkeeper-batter has managed only 251 runs in 11 innings this season, including one fifty and a strike rate of 138.67, failing to justify his price tag.
Speaking during the post-match press conference, LSG’s director of cricket Tom Moody stated that only Rishabh Pant can answer if pressure expectations is weighing him down.
Moody noted that high-profile, senior players often face immense pressure, which is central to the IPL, and it is up to them to "embrace that pressure and rise".
“That’s a question you need to ask him. I can’t speak for him on how he’s feeling about the expectation,” Moody told reporters.
“Every player, particularly profile players – so whether it’s Rishabh Pant or anyone that’s either captain or a senior player in the side that has got decorated careers at that point – they’re under pressure and that’s the beauty of the IPL. It’s whether you can embrace that pressure and rise or you find it difficult to get traction,” he added.
Rishabh Pant has also failed to justify his move to the top order. While intended to maximize his aggressive intent, the shift has resulted in just one fifty and pushed Nicholas Pooran out of his preferred No. 3 role.
Moody said Pant was the one keen to bat at one down slot. “Rishabh was keen to go 3 this year, so we afforded him that opportunity. First game, he opened. That was purely a match-up against Axar Patel. He was run out in an unfortunate fashion, so he missed that opportunity for that match-up. Nicky P came into the tournament with a sore wrist that needed some sort of management in the first week or two.
“Generally around the world in T20 cricket, Nicky P bats anywhere from 3-5 and he’s been effective in all those roles. His season started slowly, but that’s the nature when you’re playing that high-risk game,” the former Australian all-rounder stated.
Having chosen to bolster their bowling at the mini-auction, LSG’s strength remained the power-packed batting unit. With Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Matthew Breetzke in their ranks and Josh Inglis joining in May, they had a formidable batting unit. However, none of them have managed to breach the 400 runs tally this season.
“If we look at our season from a broad lens, our batting has let us down, particularly our middle order hasn’t fired and shown the consistency that’s required to have that success on a consistent basis. Our bowling has been pretty good, but we haven’t managed to put that perfect game together,” Moody remarked.
