Rishabh Pant Furious With Himself - (Source: ScreenGrab/Hotstar)
On Wednesday, April 1, Lucknow Super Giants locked horns against Delhi Capitals in their first match of IPL 2026. The two teams squared off at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. For the ongoing match, Axar Patel won the toss and opted to field first.
In a shocking move, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant walked to open the innings alongside Mitchell Marsh. Notably, Aiden Markram was demoted down the order to No.3. For the unversed, the move sent internet into a frenzy because LSG had one of the best opening pairs in 2025.
Rishabh Pant's Opening Experiments Ends In Unlucky Manner
For the unversed, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram stitched 353 runs in nine innings together and there was no need to change the pair. Nonetheless, Pant had the chance to prove himself but failed in the most unfortunate manner.
Rishabh Pant scored a boundary off the second ball he faced but struggled in rest of the deliveries. Now, on the last ball of the 3rd over, Pant was at the non-striker's end when Mitchell Marsh played a shot down the ground off Mukesh Kumar's bowling.
Pant was out of his crease and the ball hit Mukesh Kumar's hand and went onto dislodge the bails at the non-strikers end. It was an unlucky dismissal but Pant was furious and returned to the pavilion after scoring 7 (9).
Fans React To Rishabh Pant's Failure At The Top
Also Read: LSG vs DC Toss Report: Axar Patel Drops Auqib Nabi In IPL 2026 Match 5
Why Did Rishabh Pant Promote Himself To Open The Innings?
Rishabh Pant had a terrible IPL 2025 where he scored just 269 runs in 13 innings. He faced a lot of criticism for his batting and coming at No.4. Therefore, LSG opted for a change and there were reports that the southpaw might promote himself at No.3
However, Pant opening the innings came as a shock for everyone because why fix something that is not broken. Talking about Pant's stats as an opener, the 28-year-old has played six innings, scored just 132 runs, not doing very well.
It is unlikely that Lucknow Super Giants make any changes to their opening combination and will continue with Pant as their new opener despite the unfortunate dismissal against Delhi Capitals.
Lucknow Super Giants' Off To A Troubling Start In IPL 2026
There were a lot of expectations from Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the start of IPL. They have an explosive top-order, but it struggled against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana. Talking about the ongoing match, LSG were reduced to 65/4 after 8.5 overs.
Mitchell Marsh was the only positive as he scored 35 (28). Due to the top-order's failure, LSG, at the time of writing this article are 108/6 after 13.5 overs.
Also Read: Who Has Replaced Mitchell Starc In Delhi Capitals' Playing XI For IPL 2026 Match Vs LSG
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