The Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders clash in the 2026 Indian Premier League on Sunday turned out to be one of the most gripping matches of the campaign. For stretches, KKR looked set to carry the day, but a pair of no-balls in the final over—followed by Mohammed Shami striking the last-ball six—forced the game into a Super Over. In the tie-breaker, LSG were eventually outdone, finishing second-best. Yet even with the result decided on the field, a surprising story began spreading online: some claimed that Lucknow would have won if an umpiring mistake in the 12th over had not swung the score.
The chatter centred on a clip posted on X, which alleged that Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant struck Kolkata pacer Kartik Tyagi for a maximum that cleared the boundary near the fine-leg area. In the retelling, the on-field umpire supposedly misread the shot and credited it as a four rather than a six, with the third umpire also failing to spot the error.
Those assertions, however, do not hold up. The moment in question arrived on the first ball of the 12th over of LSG’s innings. While one viewing angle suggested the ball had gone over the rope without bouncing, other camera perspectives clearly indicated that the ball hit the ground before reaching the boundary line. On that basis, the umpire’s call to award four runs instead of six was the correct decision.
11.1 over — Kartik Tyagi to Pant… that was clearly a six, yet somehow the umpire signals four… runs logged as 4, match pushed to a Super Over… Script writers working overtime, is it?
Here is another angle… Four.
Rishabh Pant demands more accountability
After the defeat and the drama surrounding the match, Rishabh Pant made it clear he was not satisfied with how Lucknow performed with the bat. He urged his teammates to take part in honest self-assessment and to improve accountability as the franchise returns to action following a seven-day break.
“I think we definitely need a break. I think we’re gonna refresh. There is always pressure, and it’s gonna be a pressure game always, but at the same time, we have to look for answers inside, not outside. And just keep it simple. We need to take accountability, every guy. It can’t be about one or two guys. It has to be about the whole unit, and a lot of people will take accountability for that for sure,” Pant said.
Pant also faced questions about the decision to back Nicholas Pooran—who was described as out of form—during the Super Over against Sunil Narine.
“We discussed as a group; the name that came up was Nicholas Pooran. He might not be going through the best form of his life, but at the same time, you will trust your player in a hard situation like this,” the LSG skipper explained about the selection.
He added: “No excuses there. Just looking at the positive, there might not be enough positive right now, but I think after the break, there will be a lot of enough positive for sure.”
