Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) succumbed to a crushing 54-run defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 45 of the IPL 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 27).
Chasing 216 to win, LSG’s innings folded for 161 in 20 overs. It was a listless batting display as no one managed to cross the 40-run mark.
LSG skipper Rishabh Pant endured another failure as he was dismissed for just 4 off 2 balls. The southpaw has failed to do justice with his record price tag of Rs 27 crore so far, managing only 110 runs at an average of 12.22 and a strike-rate of 98.21.
After the game, Pant said he wants to avoid questioning himself and focus on the team’s performance during his lean patch of form in the ongoing IPL.
“In a season like this, where things are not going your way, you’re going to start questioning yourself as a player – that’s not something you want to do. When the team is doing well, you’ve got to think about that. It’s a team game. Everytime if you take out the individual, it’s not the right thing to do I guess," Pant said at the post-match presentation.
LSG’s decision to bowl first backfired as MI racked up a mammoth 215/7 on the board. They now have five wins in 10 matches and need to win at least three of their remaining four league fixtures to stay alive in the playoffs race.
“We feel as a team it was the right decision for us (to bowl first), because most of the time we back our batting. Yes bowlers, we want to give the best conditions for them, but today wasn’t our day. The other team is playing good cricket, you’ve got to give credit to them instead of just looking to question yourself. As a team, the dip is there but we can figure it out because we have a break at the right time. Keeping it very simple, not thinking about it too much," Pant added.
The only positive from LSG’s perspective was Mayank Yadav’s two wickets on his comeback from injury.
“Definitely it was good to see him coming back from injury. First match, he’s getting that rhythm, you can see it. Hopefully he gets better and better next time," Pant concluded.
