Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) returned to winning ways in IPL 2025 on Saturday, defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur, although captain Rishabh Pant's bad form remained as he was bowled for three runs off nine deliveries.
He scored just 106 runs in eight matches in the ongoing IPL 2025 season, averaging 15.14, while former India batsman Manoj Tiwary chastised the LSG captain for his "unconventional" batting style. Pant survived a lbw fright on the first ball he faced, but it took three more deliveries to get off the mark before he was bamboozled by Wanindu Hasaranga with an exquisite reverse sweep.
Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeper, comfortably retrieved the ball after it took the top edge. Pant exited with his fourth single-digit score in the IPL this season.
Tiwary questioned the logic behind Pant's short selection, claiming that it was the same reason Sunil Gavaskar chastised him on broadcast during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series earlier this year.
"Rishabh Pant is that kind of player — he is brimming with talent. There is no need for him to go and play a reverse sweep right away, yet he does it. That’s why Sunil Gavaskar got upset during the Test match in the Border-Gavaskar series. Even he knows that Pant has so much ability that he can score runs with straight-bat cricket. So why doesn’t he do that? Why does he go for the unconventional?" Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
Tiwary felt Pant should take a leaf out of Virat Kohli’s book and approach the white-ball format in a more composed manner.
"If he has to learn from someone, it should be Virat Kohli. When Kohli came into international cricket, he didn’t play at a strike rate of 100 in the 50-over format. He took his time — scored 7 runs in 10 balls, sometimes just 5 in 10 balls — but he kept building his innings. That’s what Pant needs to do now — take a little time. It may not seem like it when you watch with your eyes that it's a 20-over match, so you feel like you need to go bang-bang and finish it off quickly. But there are 120 balls in a T20 innings," Tiwary explained.
LSG will next be in action against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday at home.
