Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer defended the call to back Nicholas Pooran for the Super Over in IPL 2026, despite the batter arriving out of form and the franchise suffering its fifth straight defeat. Pooran ultimately faced Sunil Narine in the tie-breaker, but was dismissed immediately off the first delivery, ending the Super Over on a sharp note as Kolkata Knight Riders seized control of the finish.<\/p>\n
The match on Sunday, April 26, saw Pooran walk out for the Super Over with a record that suggested the duel against Narine had been unusually lopsided. In four separate Super Over contests, Pooran had managed only 1 run off 9 balls. In this instance, he went for a powerful hit at a ball that held its line and turned sharply, with the result being a direct crash into the stumps.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Langer explained why he and the team still believed Pooran was the right man to confront a bowler who has spent years dominating the shortest format. Langer pointed out that Pooran has faced Narine more than any other player in world cricket, and argued that the matchup history justified the decision even though Pooran\u2019s current form had not yet caught up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew Sunil Narine was the bowler, and if you look at Nicky\u2019s record, he\u2019s seen Narine more than anyone in world cricket,\u201d Langer said. He added that while Pooran had not found his rhythm, the franchise viewed him as the best available option for that specific scenario. \u201cSo, we felt he was still the best. I know he hasn\u2019t hit his form yet, and Nicky will be the first, but we thought if anyone can handle a Super Over, it\u2019s Nicky Pooran. And you back your best players, right? That\u2019s what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Langer also referenced Narine\u2019s own Super Over impact, underlining how difficult the contest can be even for experienced T20 batters. \u201cSo, he has struggled, but if you look at all the numbers, no one plays Narine, the world-class off spinner, better than Nicky, but it didn\u2019t come off unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Narine\u2019s Super Over record is formidable as well, with six wickets taken in 4.2 overs. Before the game, Pooran\u2019s career strike rate against Narine across all T20s stood at 131.08, alongside an average of 49, though he had been dismissed four times in 148 balls. Langer\u2019s comments also drew on an earlier chapter of the rivalry: Pooran had once infamously been involved in a maiden Super Over against Narine in the CPL 12 years ago.<\/p>\n
Since then, Pooran has developed into one of T20\u2019s more complete performers. In the IPL last year, he struck at 196.25, but this season his strike rate has fallen to 81.18. When asked whether Pooran was being affected by pressure, Langer acknowledged that confidence has been an issue, and that the batter is working to rebuild it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s working on it, and it\u2019s amazing that even big players like him, there\u2019s probably no greater T20 player currently in the world over the last few years, it just goes to show he\u2019s human, and you can\u2019t fake confidence,\u201d Langer said. \u201cWe all try to, you can look like [you are] confident, but confidence comes from getting your processes right, and we\u2019re working every day with him, and he is working very hard to get it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Langer added that setbacks are part of the realities of the format. \u201cSometimes this is a tough game of cricket, my gosh, it\u2019s a tough game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Langer also pointed to conditions as a key part of Lucknow\u2019s problem, admitting that the side failed to adjust to the black-soil wicket. He contrasted it with the previous match\u2019s red-soil surface, which he had described as \u201cexciting\u201d for its pace and bounce\u2014qualities he linked to the WACA pitch in Perth. This time, he felt the pitch behaved slower and lower, with some grip and spin becoming more influential as play progressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating. I said after the last game I thought the wicket was very good on the red soil and it was fast and bouncy. I said it was and it\u2019s really exciting for cricket and we didn\u2019t adapt today to the black soil which was slower and lower and spun a little bit,\u201d Langer said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s incredibly frustrating. I feel for the fans. I feel for our supporters. I feel for everyone who follows us. We\u2019re not adapting to the conditions as well as we should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the coach highlighted positives from the bowling unit\u2014praising Mohsin Khan\u2019s five-wicket haul and commending the spells of Mohammed Shami and Prince Yadav\u2014he criticised the way the end overs unfolded. Langer said Lucknow conceded 43 runs in the final stages on a \u201cpretty low, tougher batting wicket,\u201d calling it a costly collapse at a moment when the team felt in control.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that hurts, right? That\u2019s what T20 cricket\u2019s about. You try and negate the really big overs and we had two at the end when we felt like for 18 overs, we were on top of the game. And then they get 40 odd. They get a bit of a sniff,\u201d Langer said.<\/p>\n
He also attributed the shift to Kolkata\u2019s ability to stay dangerous with elite spin. \u201cThey\u2019ve got two world-class spinners obviously, Varun (Chakaravarthy) and Sunil (Narine). So, they would have felt like they\u2019re in the game, and for a lot of that time we felt like we\u2019re still in the game and just fell behind and got a bit exciting in the end but not exciting enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer defended the call to back Nicholas Pooran for the Super Over in IPL 2026, despite the batter arriving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Langer Defends Pooran Super Over Call After Dismissal","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Justin Langer explains why he backed Nicholas Pooran for the Super Over in IPL 2026, after a quick dismissal and LSG\u2019s fifth straight defeat.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n