Rishabh Pant made sure he didn\u2019t mince words after Lucknow Super Giants extended their IPL 2026 misery with a fourth straight loss. The side fell by 40 runs to the Rajasthan Royals at Ekana Stadium, and the defeat stretched to a seventh consecutive setback at the same venue\u2014matching the third-worst such run in IPL history. Even so, Pant still found room for a bit of humour during the post-match conversation with presenter Simon Doull, slipping in a cheeky remark as the chat wrapped up.<\/p>\n
There was plenty of talk beforehand about Ekana being a ground that favours teams chasing since 2023, but that narrative didn\u2019t help Lucknow\u2019s cause. LSG were chasing a modest target of 160, yet the batting unit struggled to gain traction and ultimately folded for 119 with two overs remaining. The bowling department had given the innings a strong structure\u2014Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav doing their jobs impressively to set the hosts up\u2014only for the batting response to fall short when it mattered most.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath, a visibly disappointed Pant spoke candidly to Doull, initially not meeting his eyes. \u201cI think it is difficult to explain,\u201d Pant said. \u201cOur batting is letting us down. We have to look for answers within. We could have taken more time, but I\u2019m not making excuses. Our bowlers did a fantastic job, but our batting let us down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pant then tried to steer the focus toward what Lucknow could do next, stressing that the group must keep its energy levels up for the second half of the season. \u201cWe still want to look at the positives. We know we have the firepower and we want to believe in it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Doull\u2019s thanks for the chat came, but Pant returned the gesture in his own way\u2014light-hearted and quick. \u201cThank you for being soft,\u201d he said, prompting a smile from the former New Zealand cricketer.<\/p>\n
For all his insistence that the team needed to regroup, Pant\u2019s own dismissal also underlined how fragile the batting looked. He went for an awkward sweep-cum-hoick, losing the momentum that had been provided by the bowlers\u2019 strong groundwork. Pant was dismissed for a duck, with Ayush Badoni and Aiden Markram also departing without making an impact, and once the middle overs began to slip away, Lucknow never truly recovered.<\/p>\n
Mitchell Marsh did offer some resistance, striking a 41-ball 55, but it wasn\u2019t enough to change the outcome. With yet another defeat piling pressure, Lucknow remained ninth on the points table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rishabh Pant made sure he didn\u2019t mince words after Lucknow Super Giants extended their IPL 2026 misery with a fourth straight loss. The side fell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Rishabh Pant Slams Simon Doull After LSG Loss","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"LSG\u2019s fourth straight IPL defeat hurts as Rishabh Pant fires back at Simon Doull after the Lucknow vs Rajasthan Royals loss at Ekana.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n