Rishabh Pant remained non-committal about his opening spot ahead of Lucknow Super Giants’ match against SunRisers Hyderabad. When asked at the toss if he would open, Pant wore a sheepish smile and struggled to give a direct answer. After a brief pause, he told broadcaster Pommie Mbangwa that they would decide on the batting order when their turn came.
Pant’s response raises an important question, have LSG already begun to rethink their plans after just one game this season?
In their opening match against Delhi Capitals, Pant had promoted himself to open the innings alongside Mitchell Marsh. The move pushed in-form Aiden Markram down the order, despite his strong showing in the previous season.
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However, Pant failed to make the most of the opportunity, scoring just 7 off 9 balls before being run out at the non-striker’s end. The early setback jolted LSG at home, and they never really recovered.
LSG managed only 141 runs, a total that Delhi Capitals, Pant’s former team, chased down comfortably in 17.1 overs. After the match, Pant was seen in an animated discussion with the team owner and coach, a moment that reminded many of KL Rahul’s time at the franchise.
On Sunday, in LSG’s second match of the season, Pant’s inability to give a clear answer about his batting position raised further concerns about the team’s clarity in approach. The wicketkeeper-batter had put in significant work ahead of the season, including training with Yuvraj Singh, in a bid to revive his white-ball career, which has stalled in recent times.
But the fact that the captain appears uncertain about his role after just one game is an ominous sign for LSG fans.
IPL 2026: SRH vs LSG
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl first in SunRisers Hyderabad’s first home game of the season, believing that the pitch would be tacky in the first six overs.
LSG made one change to their playing XI, with Manimaran Siddharth coming in for Anrich Nortje.
Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, was pleased to return to Hyderabad and soak in the support of the home crowd. He stressed the importance of staying calm and executing plans well in T20 cricket.
“It’s always good to get your home support and the crowd loves the SRH team. So yeah, very happy to be here. There are just two changes. Livingstone comes in and Harshal Patel comes in. Harshal Patel, he’s done well whenever he’s bowled here. And Livi, giving him an opportunity to use his off-spin as well against the left-handers,” Ishan said at the toss.
“In T20 especially, execution is the most important thing. You need to be in a good headspace, calm and try to save as many runs as we can. So just plan well and execute your balls. And I think let’s see how it goes from there. It’s really important for us to get these two points. But at the same time, we need to be calm, take one match at a time. And that is the whole plan. Be in a good headspace, like I said earlier, and just play your best game possible,” Kishan added.
While LSG come on the back of a loss, SRH beat KKR in their previous game. Ishan Kishan’s side would be hoping to consolidate it with their first home win of the season.
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