New Chandigarh, April 20 (IANS) Rishabh Pant cut a perplexed figure after Lucknow Super Giants slumped to a crushing 54-run defeat against Punjab Kings, admitting it was hard to pinpoint where things went wrong as his side slipped to eighth on the Indian Premier League 2026 points table.

It was a night to forget for LSG at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, where PBKS piled up a daunting 254/7 after being put in to bat. Priyansh Arya led the carnage with a blistering 93 off just 37 balls at a strike rate of 251, smashing nine sixes, while Cooper Connolly provided perfect support with an explosive 87 off 46 deliveries. The duo’s aggressive strokeplay left LSG bowlers with no answers.

“It is difficult to put out one area because bowlers are putting up a nice show. There are areas of concerns. There were some positives for us also to work around. There was some glimpse of batting what we talked about. As a team we gotta do well each and every match.”

Chasing a daunting 255, LSG managed 200/5 but never truly threatened the target. Ayush Badoni, promoted as a surprise opener, made 35 off 21 balls, while Mitchell Marsh (40 off 28), Pant himself (43 off 23) and Markram (42 off 22) chipped in with useful contributions. However, the absence of a defining knock and an overall lack of acceleration meant the chase fell well short.

Pant also defended the tactical move to promote Badoni to open alongside Marsh, revealing it was pre-planned. “I think the idea was to just go out there and play freely. It wasn’t taken just today. It was pre-decided that he’s going to open. It was just something we kept inside. We wanted some freedom at the top, and just (the) middle order wanted to chip in,” he explained.

The bowling unit endured a nightmare outing, with almost every bowler—barring Prince Yadav—going at over 10 runs per over. Aiden Markram leaked 32 runs in a single over, while Mohammed Shami (56 in four overs), Avesh Khan (46 in three overs) and Mohsin Khan (43 in four overs) were all taken apart. Manimaran Siddharth and Prince Yadav were the only bright spots, picking up two wickets each while maintaining relative control.

–IANS

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