Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant shared a lighthearted moment with former Delhi Capitals (DC) teammate Kuldeep Yadav during their intense IPL 2025 clash in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Pant, leading LSG for the first time, that too against his former team DC, was full of spirit, even though his side suffered a narrow one wicket loss. During DC’s 210-run chase, Pant engaged in a lighthearted banter with his former teammate Kuldeep, who was one of his go-to bowlers during the wicketkeeper’s time as captain of DC.
The incident happened on the second ball of the 18th over, with DC needing 39 to win in 17 balls. Kuldeep tried to cut Ravi Bishnoi‘s delivery off the back foot, but only managed to get an under edge. Pant collected the ball and pushed Kuldeep to the ground, before dislodging the bails, leaving the commentators in splits. The incident went viral on social media.
Rishab Pant Pushes Kuldeep pic.twitter.com/Gxt0Gm6KGL
— TJ | Raw and Real (@TJRawandReal) March 25, 2025
Pant being naughty with Kuldeep#IPL #DCvLSG pic.twitter.com/uatkYVLfsx
— RocketNitro1992 (@RNitro1992) March 24, 2025
DC were wobbling in the chase before impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma rescued them from 65-5 with an unbeaten 66 off 31 balls. In the end, DC chased down 210 with three balls and a wicket to spare.
After posting a huge target of 210 runs for DC, LSG took over the charge in the first ten overs of the second innings. DC was 65/5 during a 210-run chase, from which a magnificent innings of 66* by Ashutosh Sharma led DC to a thrilling win over LSG.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant didn’t do well on the missed stumping opportunity during the decisive moment of a pulsating clash against Delhi Capitals. Pant missed the chance to stump Mohit but used the DRS for lbw. The review indicated the ball had missed the stumps, allowing the Capitals to sigh in relief.
Meanwhile, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar backed LSG captain Pant to deliver an improved performance in the coming matches after getting out on a six-ball duck in his first match for the new franchise.
“I think he knows. He actually mentioned in the post-match interview that you often learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. When you bat well, there’s not much to reflect upon, but when you don’t perform with the bat or ball, you understand the areas that need improvement,” he said.
“This is just the first match, and there are 13 more to go. Rishabh Pant is an intelligent cricketer, and he will have picked up valuable insights regarding his batting and captaincy. I believe we will see an improved performance from him. Additionally, when a captain scores runs or takes wickets, it significantly boosts their confidence in making bowling changes and setting the field. Once he gets some runs under his belt, I expect his captaincy to become even more assured,” Gavaskar added.
(With Agency Inputs)
