Rishabh Pant’s LSG hosts SRH with IPL 2025 playoff hopes on the line
LUCKNOW 18/05/2025: Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant during practice session on the eve of their IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Lucknow on Sunday. May 18, 2025 PHOTO SANDEEP SAXENA to protect | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA The eight-day suspension of the IPL threw a spanner in the works for the BCCI, international cricket calendar and fans. However, the break might just be what Lucknow Super Giants needed to steady a stuttering campaign. Three defeats on the trot, and four in the last five, have left its playoff hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads. LSG needs to win its three remaining matches, starting with the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ekana Stadium here on Monday, and hope teams above them stumble for an improbable top-four finish. While its ₹27 crore captain Rishabh Pant has endured a disappointing run, SRH is one of the teams the left-hander loves facing in the IPL. Pant is one of only seven players to have scored more than 550 runs against SRH and has the highest strike rate (144.61) among them. Super Giants, led by Shardul Thakur’s four-fer, laid bare the weak spots in Sunrisers’ armour when the two met earlier in the season. It was the first of four consecutive defeats for SRH, putting it in the fast lane to elimination. However, the visitor’s washed out game against Delhi Capitals showed how it can perform when the weight of expectations is off its shoulders, something that should keep LSG on its toes. Having lost star pacer Mayank Yadav to injury once again, pressure will be on Shardul, Akash Deep and Digvesh Rathi to ensure that LSG, with the worst economy rate in the PowerPlay (10.54) this season, does not get taken to the cleaners by SRH’s batting arsenal. Published – May 18, 2025 07:30 pm IST