Follow UsLucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant felt they “had enough runs on the board” after losing to Delhi Capitals (DC) by one wicket in their first game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on March 24 (Monday). However, LSG assistant coach Lance Klusener didn’t have the same opinion after DC chased down 209 with three deliveries to spare.
Mitchell Marsh (36-ball 72) and Nicholas Pooran (35-ball 70) got LSG off to a phenomenal after. By the time two perished, Lucknow were 169/4 in 14.5 overs but could only manage 40 runs in the last five overs. In reply, Delhi lost five wickets with just 65 runs on the board, but lower middle-order batters Ashutosh Sharma (31-ball 66*), Tristan Stubbs (22-ball 34) and Vipraj Nigam (15-ball 39) got them over the line in the last over.
"If I have to put a finger on it, I would like to say we've probably left 20 or 30 runs with the bat out there. That was probably why we ended up being under pressure with the ball. I thought they (DC) finished well with the bat, but the reason why we're in that position is because we didn't score enough runs, which we should have. I thought when the bowlers got it right, there was a little bit of spin, so I thought it was a very good wicket. There was a little bit in there for everybody.
"I thought bowling was probably a little bit tougher than the batting, but that's why I'm saying possibly with the experience and the batting power we have, I think we left a few runs out there this evening. I think we play in three days' time, so we've got to just make sure the youngsters are positive. We need to keep them believing in their ability."
Lucknow were without their frontline seamers against DC. Mohsin Khan is out of the tournament and has been replaced by Shardul Thakur, who took 2/19 in his two overs. Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav and Akash Deep were also not available due to respective injuries, with Prince Yadav being the only other frontline pacer in the XI alongside Shardul.
"At the moment, we don't have a lot of reserves with the ball, so we're going to have to just probably mix and match until we start getting players back. But that's just the nature of it. We're going to have to stand up and stand tall with the bat in Hyderabad (venue of their next game) as we saw in the first game.
"We're looking forward to that, but as I said, it's an opportunity for some youngsters as well, getting their first opportunity. I was really happy for Shardul Thakur - two wickets in the first over. Someone who's spent some time with us, he got an opportunity to play this year's IPL."
LSG will next play Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on March 27. This is the same team that smashed 286 against Rajasthan Royals in their first IPL 2025 fixture at the same venue.