Lucknow Super Giants beat Gujarat Titans by 33 runs as Rishabh Pant praises team resilience, highlights Shahrukh’s batting and addresses season setbacks in IPL 2025
Ahmedabad, May 23:
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant expressed contentment with his team’s 33-run victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, despite their elimination from the IPL 2025 playoff race. The win came on the back of impressive bowling efforts from William O’Rourke and Akash Singh Maharaj, with Pant commending the team’s character and underlining the need to learn and improve moving forward.
“Definitely happy. We have shown as a team that we can play good cricket,” said Pant during the post-match presentation. “There was a time in the tournament when we had a real chance to qualify, but that’s part and parcel of the game. We need to learn and get better.”
Bright Spots Amid a Tough Season
While Pant acknowledged the inconsistency in the top-order throughout the season, he lauded the middle-order performance—particularly Shahrukh Khan, whose aggressive innings gave the team much-needed depth.
“The way Shahrukh batted definitely gives us hope down the order,” Pant noted, adding that contributions from Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran were key to some of the team’s better outings with the bat.
Despite batting issues and fielding lapses during the campaign, Pant remained optimistic about the learnings gained.
“Fielding—yes, we made lapses. We learn from it and move forward,” he concluded.
Pant’s Own Struggles
The LSG captain has endured a difficult personal season with the bat, managing just 135 runs in 12 innings at a modest average of 12.27 and a strike rate barely above 100. His only standout performance came in a match against Chennai Super Kings, where he scored 63 off 49 balls.
In the win over GT, Pant played a short but explosive cameo, smashing 16 runs off 6 balls, including two sixes off Kagiso Rabada.
Standings Update
With this result, Gujarat Titans remain at the top of the IPL 2025 standings with 18 points from 13 matches (9 wins, 4 losses). Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants are placed sixth, having registered 6 wins and 7 losses, totaling 12 points from their 13 games.