‘Thanks for being soft’: Rishabh Pant cracks at Simon Doull after blasting LSG batters in fourth straight IPL loss

All the talk around Ekana being a chasing-friendly venue since 2023 fell flat as LSG struggled to hunt down a modest target of 160. The pace unit — Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav — had set it up beautifully for the hosts, but the batting unit failed to respond, collapsing for just 119 with two overs to spare.

“I think it is difficult to explain,” a despondent Pant told Doull, initially avoiding eye contact. “Our batting is letting us down. We have to look for answers within. We could have taken more time, but I’m not making excuses. Our bowlers did a fantastic job, but our batting let us down.”

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Pant tried to focus on the positives, insisting the team must remain upbeat for the second half of the season. “We still want to look at the positives. We know we have the firepower and we want to believe in it,” he added.

Just as Doull thanked him for the chat, Pant returned the favour — but not without a parting quip. “Thank you for being soft,” he said, leaving the former New Zealand cricketer smiling.

Pant himself was far from blameless, playing an ungainly sweep-cum-hoick to lose momentum after the bowlers had laid the platform. He was dismissed for a duck, alongside Ayush Badoni and Aiden Markram, and LSG never recovered from the collapse.

Mitchell Marsh showed some resistance with a 41-ball 55, but the lone effort was not enough as Lucknow remained ninth on the table after yet another defeat.

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