"When you drop crucial catches...": Rishabh Pant on LSG's loss to Punjab Kings in IPL 2025

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 5 (ANI): After losing the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant revealed the reason behind the team's loss in the 54th clash of the ongoing 18th edition of the cash rich league.
A fighting half-century by Ayush Badoni and his 81-run stand with Abdul Samad was the only highlight as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a 37-run loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 37 runs due to a top-order failure at the HPCA stadium in Dharmasala on Sunday.
With this win, PBKS is at second spot with seven wins and three losses and one no result, giving them 15 points. LSG is at seventh spot, with five wins and six losses, giving them 10 points.
"Definitely too many runs. When you're gonna drop crucial catches at the wrong time, it is going to hurt you badly. We thought it was going to do more. We didn't pick the length right at the start. That's part and parcel of the game. The dream is still alive. If we're gonna win the next three matches, we definitely can turn it around. It makes sense when your top order is batting really well. In every match, you can't hope they will come off nicely. It's part of the game. We need to take the game deep. Every time, they can't do the heavy job for us. Like you said in the first, we had too many to chase. That hurt us badly," Rishabh Pant said in the post-match press conference.
Coming to the match, LSG won the toss and opted to bat first.
A quick cameo of 30 in 14 balls (one four and four sixes) by Josh Inglis and 78-run third wicket stand between Prabhsimran and skipper Shreyas Iyer (45 in 25 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a 54-run fifth wicket stand between Prabhsimran and Shashank Singh (33* in 15 balls, with four boundaries and a six) took PBKS to 236/5 in their 20 overs.
Akash Singh (2/30) and Digvesh Rathi (2/46) were the top wicket-takers for LSG.
During the run-chase, LSG sunk to 73/5, but an 81-run stand between Ayush Badoni (74 in 40 balls, with five fours and five sixes) and Abdul Samad (45 in 24 balls, with two fours and four sixes) helped LSG fight back, but they were restricted to 199/7 in 20 overs.
Arshdeep Singh delivered a brilliant four-over spell, giving 16 runs and taking three wickets. Azmatullah Omarzai took 2/33 in his four overs. Marco Jansen and Yuzi Chahal took one wicket each. (ANI)