Lucknow – Lucknow Super Giants slipped to a fifth defeat on the bounce on Sunday night, losing a scrappy, low-scoring match to Kolkata Knight Riders in a Super Over. The result leaves them anchored to the foot of the table and their captain, Rishabh Pant, openly admitted the group needs time away from cricket to clear its collective head.
“See, I think we definitely need a break,” Pant said during the post-match presentation. “I think we’re going to refresh. You know, there is always pressure and it’s going to be a pressure game, always. But at the same time we have to look at answers inside, not outside. And just keep it simple, man. Just take accountability, each and every guy. Like, it can’t be about one or two guys, it has to be about the whole unit. And a lot of people will take accountability for that, for sure.”
Key moments
• LSG reduced KKR to 31-4 in the seventh over and 129-7 after 19.
• Rinku Singh then launched four successive sixes off leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi, lifting KKR to 155.
• The chase ebbed and flowed until Sunil Narine conceded just one run – and took two wickets – in the Super Over.
Pooran’s prolonged lean patch
A central talking point has been Nicholas Pooran’s form: 82 runs at 10.25 and a strike-rate barely above 80. Despite this, LSG backed him to partner Pant in the Super Over. Pooran was bowled first ball and, two deliveries later, Aiden Markram also fell without scoring. LSG mustered only one run.
Pant had no regrets about sticking with his senior left-hander. “As a group, we had a discussion,” he said. “And the name that came up was Nicky P. He might not go through the best form of his life. But at the same time, you got to trust your player in a hard situation like this. They’re going to come off nicely. So, no excuses there. Just, looking at the positive. There might not be enough positive right now. But I think after the break, there will be a lot of enough positive, for sure.”
The final over decision
Until Rinku’s late assault, LSG looked set for a chase around 140. Pant’s call to give the 20-year-old Rathi the final over puzzled television pundit Sanjay Bangar, who felt the young leg-spinner should have been risked earlier, when the field was back. Pant offered a pragmatic take.
“See, there are always times in cricket where you can turn [things] a little bit with bowling,” he explained. “But sometimes, a bowler’s got to bowl that hard overs, you know. And there will be times when I have to give him that in middle overs. Because I was looking for a wicket, I just didn’t get one. That was the thought process behind it. And too many minds doesn’t make it easy on the ground.”
Narine’s calm in the tie-breaker
KKR’s experienced mystery spinner has a habit of owning tense finishes. In the Super Over, Narine dismissed Pooran with a dipping off-break, conceded a single, then removed Markram with extra bounce. Three balls, two wickets, one run – LSG never recovered.
Asked whether he relishes such moments, Narine replied: “I think you have no other choice. I think when you’re bowling good you have the opportunity to do it. It’s always a tough situation but I think it’s a bit easier when you bowl a Super Over first.”
That composure is not new. Narine once bowled a maiden Super Over in the 2014 CPL, also against Pooran, and spoke of drawing on that experience. He finished with 1-23 from four overs in regulation play – tidy figures on a slow surface.
Where LSG stand
Five straight defeats mean LSG now have as many points as matches played. They are not yet out of the reckoning – a mid-season break offers a window to reset batting plans and rethink the finishing overs. All-rounders have chipped in, the new-ball seamers look sharp, yet wins remain elusive.
For Pant, perspective and accountability are now twin priorities. The squad disperses for a short break before re-gathering for the next fixture. When they do, clarity around roles – especially in the closing overs with bat and ball – appears non-negotiable.
The season still has room to twist, but LSG know momentum seldom turns by accident.
