Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a heartbreaking one-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 opener in Visakhapatnam on Monday (March 24).
This outcome has put LSG skipper Rishabh Pant under the scanner. While Pant bagged a six-ball duck in the match, some of his captaincy decisions were also questioned by the critics.
Meanwhile, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has extended his support to Pant, hoping that the southpaw will learn from his mistakes.
"When you bat well, there's not much to reflect upon, but when you don't perform with the bat or ball, you understand the areas that need improvement," Gavaskar said while speaking on JioStar Match Center Live.
Gavaskar further stated that it was just the first match, and there are still 13 games left. He felt Pant would have valuable insights regarding his batting and captaincy, and he expects his captaincy to become even more assured.
"I think he knows. He actually mentioned in the post-match interview that you often learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. When you bat well, there's not much to reflect upon, but when you don't perform with the bat or ball, you understand the areas that need improvement,” Gavaskar remarked.
“This is just the first match, and there are 13 more to go. Rishabh Pant is an intelligent cricketer, and he will have picked up valuable insights regarding his batting and captaincy. I believe we will see him improve his performance. Additionally, when a captain scores runs or takes wickets, it significantly boosts their confidence in making bowling changes and setting the field. Once he gets some runs under his belt, I expect his captaincy to become even more assured,” he added.
Ashutosh Sharma (66* off 31) pulled off a heist for the Capitals, coming in at 65/5 while chasing 210 and producing a memorable partnership with Vipraj Nigam.
With six runs needed in the final over, Rishabh Pant chose Shahbaz Ahmed to bowl. The first delivery saw Mohit Sharma step down the track and miss, with Pant failing to complete the stumping.
Although Pant took a review for LBW, the ball was shown to have missed the stumps. Mohit managed a single, which brought Ashutosh on strike and the latter sealed the deal on the third delivery with a six over Shahbaz's head.
(With ANI Inputs)
