Rishabh Pant summed up Lucknow Super Giants’ mood after the franchise suffered its ninth defeat in 13 matches in IPL 2026. Speaking at the end of the game, the wicketkeeper-batter said the team still believes it is capable of winning, especially with the next fixture—against Punjab Kings on Saturday—on the horizon.
“We are a f**king good team,” Pant said when asked how he was viewing Lucknow’s final match of the season. He added that whatever the team’s current situation might be, the belief within the group remains intact. “We are proud as a team regardless of how our situation is right now. You know, the kind of team we have, we know we can win this. Regardless of anything we are confident enough as a team and as individuals. It hasn’t gone our way and everyone knows that, but that doesn’t take away the fact that we are a f**cking good team.”
With their playoff hopes effectively over, Lucknow now sits outside the qualification picture. Their batting has been inconsistent, and Pant’s own campaign has not produced the impact he would have wanted. The same pattern has also affected other key names around him, including Nicholas Pooran, who has been unable to find his rhythm. Even Mitchell Marsh—who recently struck a hundred and then backed it up with a 96 on Tuesday—started the IPL slowly. Team director Tom Moody pointed to the middle order as a major issue, admitting that underperformance in that phase has been a key reason Lucknow kept slipping into the lower half of the points table.
Against Rajasthan Royals, the batting department managed to perform better, but the bowlers faced heavy strain. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi drove the chase with a blistering 93 off 38 balls, while Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed 43 off 23 as well. In the end, the Royals’ openers combined for 75 runs while chasing a target of 221.
Pant defended Lucknow’s overall approach on a difficult day for bowlers. “Sometimes, you know, it is hard,” he said. “On a [flat] wicket like this, there is less margin for the bowlers, you know, and just having too many suggestions doesn’t work, you know. Sometimes you have to keep a simple plan and keep focusing on that one ball at a time and try to execute that plan.”
One notable detail was the way Lucknow managed their bowling options during the chase. With Sooryavanshi making steady progress through to the 14th over and accelerating afterwards, Pant was unable to deploy left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed at the time he might have wanted. Ahmed was held back and only introduced for the final over, when Rajasthan needed two runs to win.
When asked about that decision, Pant explained it in terms of match-up and personnel availability. “Definitely, the left-handers,” he said. “They had been batting for a period of time. And exposing a left-arm spinner, I didn’t want that, because [Digvesh] Rathi was in the side. So why take chance on Shabby when Rathi is there, for sure.”
