“Costliest IPL Star Rishabh Pant Bats at No.7, Scores Duck in Last Over – Fans Question LSG’s Bizarre Call”
In a surprising move that left fans and experts puzzled, Rishabh Pant—IPL’s most expensive player ever at Rs 27 crore—walked in to bat at No. 7 for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against his former franchise, Delhi Capitals (DC), during their IPL 2025 clash. Known for anchoring the innings at No. 4, Pant’s late arrival to the crease came only in the final over of the innings. He lasted just two balls and departed for a duck, sparking a wave of reactions online, with many questioning the strategy behind the decision.
At the toss, Pant’s right hand was visibly taped, indicating a possible injury. However, there was no official word on whether that played a role in the decision to push him down the order. Despite the injury, Pant took up wicketkeeping duties during the DC innings, leaving fans wondering about the extent of his discomfort.
The LSG batting effort looked promising early on as they reached 87/1 after 10 overs. However, the next 10 overs saw a dramatic collapse, with the team adding just 72 more runs to finish at 159/6—their lowest total in the tournament so far.
Delhi’s pace trio—Mukesh Kumar (4/33), Mitchell Starc (1/25), and Dushmantha Chameera (1/25)—put on a clinic, using clever variations and slower balls to strangle LSG’s middle and lower order. Mukesh was the star, taking two crucial wickets in a single over and putting the brakes on LSG’s momentum.
Earlier, Aiden Markram (52 off 33) and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 36) had stitched a solid partnership. Markram looked fluent, while Marsh played a supporting role. The ball came onto the bat nicely in the first 10 overs, but DC’s bowlers adapted brilliantly after that, taking pace off and exploiting the conditions perfectly.
Chameera removed Markram with a deceptive fuller delivery, while Starc cleverly outfoxed Nicholas Pooran with a slow bouncer that resulted in an inside edge onto the stumps.
Ayush Badoni tried to revive the innings with a fighting 36 off 21, but it wasn’t enough to push the total to a par score on what seemed like a decent batting pitch at the Ekana Stadium.
With Pant’s fitness still in question and LSG’s strategy under scrutiny, fans are left wondering whether the team’s most prized asset was fully fit or simply misused.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
