"...... Him" Trends After Pant’s Bizarre Dismissal: Goenka’s Resigned Look Says It All
Dharamsala, May 5, 2025:
Rishabh Pant’s IPL 2025 nightmare continued on Sunday as the Lucknow Super Giants captain fell for a bizarre dismissal, further dimming his team’s playoff hopes and intensifying criticism from fans. Pant managed just 18 runs off 17 balls against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala — a match LSG lost by 37 runs, dropping them further in the league standings.
Pant’s dismissal in the 8th over — a failed lofted shot off Azmatullah Omarzai where his bat slipped mid-air while the ball was caught at sweeper cover — left both the player and his franchise stunned. While Pant walked off visibly frustrated, mouthing words and glancing at the sky, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka’s dejected, resigned expression captured the mood in the dugout.
Earlier, Goenka was already seen disheartened after Nicholas Pooran fell cheaply inside the powerplay, compounding LSG’s early collapse.
Pant, IPL’s costliest-ever buy at ₹27 crore, has so far failed to justify his price tag. After 11 matches, the star batter has amassed only 128 runs at a strike rate of 99.22, with just one half-century — his worst performance in any IPL season since debuting in 2016.
The backlash was swift and ruthless. “Sack him now” and “Worst captaincy signing ever” trended across X (formerly Twitter) with memes and rants from disappointed fans questioning the LSG management’s decision to hand him the leadership.
With only three games left and 10 points from 11 matches, LSG’s road to the playoffs now looks steep, especially with a negative net run rate of -0.47. The side faces Royal Challengers Bengaluru at home on May 9, a must-win encounter to keep slim qualification hopes alive.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer praised his team’s all-round performance and lauded Prabhsimran Singh’s blistering 91 off 48 balls that set up the winning total.
IPL 2025, Rishabh Pant, LSG vs PBKS, Sanjiv Goenka, IPL Captaincy, Rishabh Pant Dismissal, Pant Poor Form, LSG Playoffs Hopes
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