Rishabh Pant failed to score big once again as his rough patch in the ongoing IPL 2025 continued with a 5-ball 2 against Punjab Kings on Tuesday. The wicketkeeper batter was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for a record-breaking INR 27 crore in the IPL mega auction, but so far, in the first three matches, he has managed to score just 17 runs. The pressure has started mounting on him, as the big price tag has already put him under the scanner.
The 27-year-old came out to bat against Punjab Kings when his team was struggling in the middle with both openers Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram back in the pavilion. The LSG skipper had a big responsibility to rebuild the innings alongside his deputy Nicholas Pooran, but he once again crumbled under pressure.
Shreyas Iyer made a bold move to introduce Glenn Maxwell into the attack after Pant’s arrival in the middle. The Aussie all-rounder lured Pant to go for a risky shot as he bowled a short delivery down the leg side. The LSG skipper went on his knee and hit it straight to short fine. Iyer had placed Yuzvendra Chahal there, and he made no mistake in grabbing an easy catch.
It was the third innings in a row this season in which Pant failed to make any impact with the bat. In the last two matches, he registered 0 and 15, respectively.
The wicketkeeper batter faced the wrath of fans on social media for his third consecutive failure as the biggest price tag in the league attached to his name.
The fans also dug out Pant’s old comment about Punjab Kings.
Ahead of the IPL 2025, Pant said he was tense about PBKS having the highest purse in the auction as he only wanted to get picked by LSG.
“I only had one tension, that was Punjab (laughs). They had the highest purse. When Shreyas went to Punjab, I felt I could make it to LSG. There was a possibility. But eventually, with auction you never know, so I just thought I would wait and watch, and had my fingers crossed,” Pant told Star Sports.
Shreyas Iyer elects to bowl first LSG
Earlier, Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first against Lucknow at Ekana Stadium. The home team decided to go unchanged from the last match, in which they outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad to open their account.
Pant said that he also wanted to bowl first but was ready to accept the challenge of batting first.
“We wanted to bowl first but there are things which are not under our control so happy to bat first. There are a lot of people who have come to support us, we are definitely going to give our best. No changes for us,” Pant said at the toss.
