Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant’s poor form with the bat continues in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as the southpaw fell cheaply against Punjab Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Tuesday evening.

LSG made a nightmarish start after Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first. The hosts lost their opener, Mitchell Marsh, in the very first over of the innings, with Arshdeep Singh picking up the wicket on the fourth ball.

Aiden Markram’s brief blitz was cut short by Lockie Ferguson, who castled the South African batter after being hit for two maximums in the fourth over.

With LSG eyeing their first win at home, captain Pant was expected to provide stability by anchoring the innings. But his choice of an expansive shot off the bowling of Glenn Maxwell proved to be the spoiler.

After coming in to bat, Pant could score only two runs off four balls, and when he thought about unleashing himself with a big shot, Maxwell sent him packing. Pant swept into the hands of Yuzvendra Chahal at short fine leg and began the long walk back to the pavilion.

In the first match of the season, Pant failed to open his account against Delhi Capitals. He was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav for nought. Even in LSG’s win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, his struggle was evident as the batter could score only 15 off 15 balls before Harshal Patel dismissed him.

After back-to-back failures, Pant, who became the most expensive player in the IPL 2025 auction in November, was expected to fire and justify his INR 27 crore price tag. But the batter failed to make any meaningful contributions to his team.

With Lucknow Super Giants facing Mumbai Indians in their next game at home, the heat on Pant will mount if his team fails to win against PBKS.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from IPL 2025,IPL Orange Cap, IPL Purple Cap, Most Sixes in IPL, Cricket, Sports and around the world.