Brief Score: Gujarat TItans (165/3 in 18.4 overs) beat Lucknow Super Giants (164/8 in 20 overs) by seven wickets on Sunday in Lucknow. HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

Rishabh Pant and Lucknow Super Giants have hit a wall they cannot climb and entered a maze they cannot exit. If you have ever stepped inside the iconic Bhool Bhulaiya in Lucknow, you understand the suffocating sensation of getting lost within an architectural marvel. It is a masterpiece of design that swiftly mutates into a living nightmare the moment you realise you are pacing the same corridors and hitting the same dead ends, despite every desperate effort to find the light.

Lucknow Super Giants seem to be wandering through exactly that. On Sunday, April 12, they slumped to their sixth successive home defeat on the trot, failing to defend a slightly below-par total of 164 against Gujarat Titans. In their last nine matches at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, they have now lost seven. Curiously, they have found success on the road in Kolkata and Hyderabad early in the IPL 2026 season, but home comfort continues to desert them.

Their big guns, including captain Rishabh Pant, openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, and West Indies superstar Nicholas Pooran, all flattered to deceive. On a pitch that proved stubbornly two-paced, Prasidh Krishna used his variations to devastating effect. The Gujarat Titans fast bowler ran riot, claiming four wickets by leaning on slower-ball bouncers to suck the life out of the LSG innings whenever they threatened to show a spark of momentum.

With the ball, Lucknow were unable to match the inventiveness of the Titans. Despite Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Rathi, and Prince Yadav entering the wickets column, they never truly troubled Shubman Gill and his battalion. A composed 56 from Gill—his second successive fifty of the season—and an imposing 37-ball 60 from Jos Buttler ensured Gujarat raced past the finish line with seven wickets and eight balls to spare, climbing the points table in the process.

THE EKANA PUZZLE

The struggle lacks a clear pattern. Unlike the actual Bhool Bhulaiya, where familiarity and repetition are the hurdles, the Ekana has proven to be a puzzle that LSG cannot solve despite constant shuffling. In the season opener, for instance, they opted for a red-soil pitch only for the batting to flop, resulting in a total of 141 that Delhi Capitals chased in a mere 17.1 overs.

On Sunday, they tried a combination of red and black soil. While the surface offered extra bounce, the turn for the spinners remained slow. For a batting group filled with natural strokemakers, this sluggishness was a nightmare.

It played perfectly into the hands of the Gujarat Titans, who rely on anchors rather than outright enforcers at the top of their order. Look at the history: last year, they lost five of their seven home games. Back then, they were outbatted in high-scoring encounters; this time, despite a much-improved bowling unit, the batting has stalled.

There were glum faces in the stands as the contest drew to a close. The Lucknow faithful, who had braved the harsh Sunday heat, began streaming out of the stadium long before the final ball was bowled.

BATTING STRUGGLE ON TWO-PACED PITCH

Earlier in the day, the Super Giants were only bailed out of total collapse by the tail-enders. They were reeling at 120 for 7 at the end of the 17th over, having lost their marquee names to a short-ball plan wonderfully executed by the Titans’ attack.

The afternoon crowd had given a roaring welcome to Mukul Choudhary, the IPL’s newest breakthrough star, who recently channelled his inner MS Dhoni with a whirlwind finishing act in Kolkata. The expectant crowd wanted more of the Mukul magic, and for a moment, they got it. In the 18th over, he tonked a Kagiso Rabada short ball into the stands with the same authority he displayed at Eden Gardens.

However, the joy was short-lived. Mukul was outfoxed by Prasidh Krishna, who exploited the two-paced nature of the deck by mixing his natural pace with variations. A slower-ball bouncer kicked off the surface, leaving the young batter dangling as he attempted a pull shot, only to manage a faint under-edge to the keeper. As Mukul made the disappointed walk back to the pavilion, the silence was deafening. It was left to

Mohammed Shami and George Linde to provide a few lusty blows in the final two overs to give the bowlers a total they could at least work with.

Linde, named as a replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga last week, was drafted into the XI immediately to add depth to a brittle batting order. While he chipped in with 16 off 10 balls, the South African all-rounder could not replicate that impact with the ball.

BIG GUNS FLOP AGAIN

It has been a frustrating start for LSG. Heavily reliant on an explosive top five, the engine has simply failed to heat up. While Pant and Markram have surpassed 100 runs for the season—thanks to a fifty each—Marsh and Pooran have yet to arrive. Pooran has been a particular letdown, managing just 41 runs in four innings. His 19 off 21 balls on Sunday, at a strike rate of 90, was his second lowest in the IPL when facing 20 or more deliveries.

There was a distinct air of recklessness in how the senior campaigners fell. Marsh, having hit a six and a boundary in Rabada’s first over, perished the very next ball by holing out to mid-off. Pant was equally disappointing; after playing a few eye-catching strokes, he lost his shape trying to loft Mohammed Siraj in the powerplay and departed for 18. Markram failed to convert his start, falling to Prasidh immediately after the powerplay, while Pooran became yet another victim of a slower bouncer that stuck in the pitch.

LSG must find a way out of this maze quickly before the season slips away. There will be some relief as they travel to the batter’s paradise of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for their next game on Wednesday, April 15. Perhaps away from the shadows of the Ekana, they will finally find their rhythm.

On the other hand, Gill and the Titans have sealed momentum, winning two on the bounce after a slow start to their season. The former champions will enjoy a four-day break before they welcome the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders to Ahmedabad on Friday.

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