Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of Lucknow Super Giants, made headlines by acquiring Rishabh Pant for a record ₹27 crore during the mega auction. Following LSG's defeat to Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2025 opener, he was observed conversing with the wicketkeeper-batter. Despite putting DC under pressure at 113 for six in their chase of 210 runs, LSG failed to secure a victory. Ashutosh Sharma delivered an outstanding performance, scoring 66 runs off 31 balls, leading DC to a successful start with a wicket and three balls remaining in Visakhapatnam on Monday, March 24.

In his debut match as both captain and player for LSG, Pant had a disappointing outing across all aspects. In a high-scoring game where over 420 runs were accumulated and five batsmen achieved strike rates exceeding 200, Pant was dismissed for a duck off six balls, outmaneuvered by Kuldeep Yadav. His leadership and wicketkeeping did not meet expectations either. Shardul Thakur, the most seasoned bowler in the LSG lineup, bowled only two overs despite taking two wickets in his initial over.

Even when 22 runs were required in the final two overs, Pant opted to hand the ball to the inexperienced Prince Yadav rather than Shardul. The young bowler conceded 16 runs, including two fours and a six. With the match on the line in the last over, Pant surprisingly chose to bring in left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, neglecting to utilize Shardul, who has successfully closed out several last-over matches for India in the past.

The situation could have been altered had Pant managed to execute a stumping opportunity in the final over. Shahbaz bowled a remarkable delivery that deceived DC's No. 11, Mohit Sharma, but Pant failed to collect the ball as it changed direction after hitting Mohit's back pad.

"Luck certainly plays a role in this game, and if it had missed his (Mohit Sharma's) pads, it would have been a stumping chance. However, such occurrences are part of cricket; instead of dwelling on them, we must focus on improving our performance," Pant remarked during the post-match presentation.

After the match LSG owner Goenka decided to have a chat with his captain and coach Justin Langer. The conversation was not as animated as the one with former captain KL Rahul in IPL 2024, which many believe was the beginning of the end of Rahul's tenure at LSG but it was a quiet reminder to Pant that he would have to get his act together.

Sanjiv Goenka's chat with Rishabh Pant after LSG lose to DC

Ashutosh Sharma's brilliant display

Ashutosh, making a significant impact in his debut for Delhi, played a crucial role in rescuing his team from a challenging position of 65-5 to successfully chase down a target of 210, finishing with three balls to spare.

With 22 runs needed from the last two overs and six runs required from the final six deliveries, with only one wicket left, Ashutosh remained composed and secured victory with a decisive six.

Delhi found themselves in dire straits at 7-3 in the second over and had lost half their lineup for just 65 runs when Faf du Plessis was dismissed for 29 in his inaugural match for the franchise.

New captain Axar Patel contributed a brisk 22 runs, while Tristan Stubbs delivered a powerful performance with 34 runs.

Read Also: DC's Ashutosh Sharma to Mohit Sharma: "One ball, I'll wrap it up in six" during tense final over against LSG

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