LSG captain Rishabh Pant with Aiden Markram. Credits- AFP
IPL 2026 is going through a rollercoaster phase in the business end, with all four playoff spots up for grabs. On Friday, the Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made things spicier by beating the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are in the hunt for qualification.
LSG's explosive opener Mitchell Marsh made the game lopsided as he thwarted CSK with a 38-ball 90, but was unfortunately run-out in the 12th over of the chase.
Although the Lucknow batters chased down the target in a jiffy, the bowlers were rather unhurried, which resulted in Rishabh Pant paying a hefty price.
Read More: Watch- 6,6,6,6! Mitchell Marsh Punishes Anshul Kamboj With Brute-Hitting
Rishabh Pant fined INR 12 lakhs
LSG bowled 16 out of their 20 overs with faster bowlers, while the remaining four overs were bowled by the lone spinner in their ranks, Shahbaz Ahmed.
With fast bowlers operating in tandem, the Rishabh Pant-led side took well over the allotted time to finish off the innings. As a result, the LSG captain has been fined INR 12 lakhs under the Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for maintaining a slow over rate.
"Rishabh Pant, Captain, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match No. 59 of TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK)," the IPL said in a press release.
As it was Pant's first offence for maintaining a slow over rate this season, he has been fined. INR 12 lakhs would be approximately 6.5% of his match fees.
"As this was his (Pant) team’s first offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Rishabh Pant was fined INR 12 lakhs," the release added.
Rishabh Pant not justifying ₹27 Crore tag, again
Rishabh Pant, the most expensive IPL buy, has had another poor season for LSG, both as a batter and a captain. As a leader, Pant failed to be proactive and was found wanting on the field. With the bat, he has scored just 251 runs at a strike rate of 139, scoring just one half-century in his season, with one more game to go.
Pant, who was acquired by LSG for INR 27 crore, has been clearly under the burden of the hefty price tag and the additional captaincy duties. As reported earlier, the LSG captain is among the three captains who might lose the jobs after IPL 2026.
LSG spoils CSK’s party
Already eliminated from IPL 2026, LSG had nothing to lose as they came in to play CSK on Friday. And they played exactly like that to spoil CSK’s party.
Bowling first, former CSK blood Akash Singh, playing his first game of the season, rattled CSK’s top order by getting the prized wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson and Uvril Patel, returning with 3/26 in his four overs. Akash was well backed by LSG’s speed king, Mayank Yadav, who went for just 0/26.
Although CSK posted 187/5, thanks to Kartik Sharma’s Ekana silencing 71, Mitchell Marsh went berserk from the word go and slammed a fiery 38-ball 90. The Australian maestro made the chase lopsided, but missed on his third IPL century by a whisker.
After losing to LSG, Chennai are still in the race for the playoffs, but would need to win both their remaining matches comprehensively.
Also Read: CSK Qualification Scenario For IPL 2026 Playoffs After Defeat vs LSG
