Lucknow Super Giants grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory after Ashutosh Sharma’s incredible knock helped Delhi Capitals chase down 210 with one wicket and 3 balls to spare. After posting a competitive score in the first innings, LSG made early inroads with the ball as they reduced DC to 7/3 after 2 overs and then 65/5 in the 7th over. With half the opposition batters back in the hut with still 145 runs left to chase, skipper Rishabh Pant and his LSG teammates were in pole position to win the game.
However, a combination of poor bowling and sensation striking from Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, and Sharma saw DC pull a fast one over Pant & co.
So, following the defeat and the post-match obligations, Pant was seen having an intense chat with coach Justin Langer and LSG team owner Sanjeev Goenka. Pant’s defeated body language sent the social media into a frenzy as the interaction reminded them of a similar incident that happened between Goenka and former skipper KL Rahul in 2024 after a heavy defeat. The KL Rahul-Goenka interaction stirred up quite a controversy as footage showed the team owner almost chiding Rahul following the disappointing result.
Déjà Vu?
Upon seeing Pant’s body language, social media users had a field day as the two interactions 12 months apart looked very uncanny to ignore. In fact, some users got creative with their memes with one of them superimposing Pant’s face onto KL Rahul’s body in the screenshot from the 2024 incident. See here:
Meanwhile, other users ripped into Pant’s overall performance against DC on Monday by referencing his price tag for IPL 2025 ( ₹27 crore), highlighting his failure with the bat on the night (0 off 6), his decision to give spinner Shahbaz Ahmed the 20th over to defend 5 runs, and for missing a crucial stumping in that final over that would have won LSG the game.
It indeed was a bad day for Pant and LSG as they lost a game they should have comfortably won. Regardless, they will look to move on and pick up the pieces as they have a short trip from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad, where they will face last year’s finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday.
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