Lucknow Super Giants lost their first wicket in their chase of Gujarat Titans’ 180 for 6 after their powerplay. The score was a healthy 65 for 1 in 6.2 overs, so the platform was well set and LSG were on track. The batsman out was LSG captain Rishabh Pant, the most expensive player in IPL 2025 and indeed, in all IPL history. He had made 21 off 18 before falling to Prasidh Krishna, with the powerplay very much carried by Aiden Markram.
Pant was opening because Mitchell Marsh was absent in this game, tending to a sick child. But in a tournament of poor returns, even the move up the order didn’t net him significant runs. When he was out, the Titans handled put out this post:
But while in theory Pant is a big fish, in IPL 2025, he’s not been all that hot.
Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025
So far in this tournament, Pant has batted five times in six games, and totalled only 40 runs. His average is just 8.00 but most surprising of all is his strike rate. He has faced 50 balls and is striking only at 80.00. There are times in Test matches where that strike rate might be considered slow for Rishabh Pant.
He started with a duck against DC, and had crossed 10 just once before the game against LSG on Saturday (April 12). Pant has almost not lasted long enough in the middle to make an informed judgement on whether there’s something in particular troubling him or it’s just the vagaries of T20 doing their thing to a batsman not in the best form.
Pant himself said after the match that he’s been feeling an improvement with every game. “I think every match I’m feeling much better,” he said at the presentation ceremony. “Today, Marsh gave me an opportunity because he wasn’t there. So I thought the more I spend time on the wicket it’s going to be good for me going forward in the tournament, and that’s what I did – just spending more time at the wicket. It definitely helps as a player. Each and every time I step out onto the field, there’s a feel-good factor. It’s a team game eventually. You’re going to keep winning matches and try to put your best foot forward.”
‘Imagine when Pant starts making runs’ – Justin Langer
The good thing from LSG’s point of view is that despite their captain not scoring any significant runs, they’ve won four out of six games and are in the top three of the points table so far. That has largely been on the back of some scintillating form and pristine hitting by Nicholas Pooran, aided admirably by Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram.
When coach Justin Langer was asked about Pant’s form a couple of matches back, he saw LSG’s good results as even more of a positive, pointing out how formidable they would be when the captain was back among the runs.
“He’ll be fine, don’t worry about Rishy,” Langer had said. “Our one job is just to keep him smiling. When you come into a new franchise, I feel you try so hard… there’s a lot of expectation, he’s the captain of the team. With that often comes pressure that none of us can understand. No one understands that. There might be, I don’t know, a dozen people in the one and a half billion in this country at the moment who understand that. So we’ll just stay with him, keep him smiling, keep him relaxed, and when he comes good – my gosh! We’ve won so many of our games so far and Rishy hasn’t made any runs yet. Imagine when he does start making runs! I cannot wait to see that.”
The potential pitfall ahead for LSG
While so far, Pooran has batted like a dream, and Marsh and Markram are on track to have their own best IPL seasons too, the question for LSG is – can they bank on their form lasting through the tournament? T20 is the most volatile format, and it’s rare for batters to consistently make bundles of runs, especially when they’re attacking as much as these three do. If they continue in the same vein, of course LSG will be quite irresistible. But for the odd rainy day when it doesn’t come off, they might need their captain to become the batter he can be, instead of the one he is right now.
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