Mumbai, April 27 Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant defended his decision to bowl first in hot and humid conditions in an afternoon start at the Wankhede Stadium as his team slumped to a 54-run defeat in Match 45 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 here on Sunday.
The Mumbai batters capitalised on the pitch that looked good for batting and posted 215/7, riding on half-centuries by Ryan Rickelton (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (54). With the LSG batters scorched and cooked up by the hot and humid conditions, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult produced fiery spells to claim 4-22 and 3-20 to bowl out the visitors for 161 in 20 overs and secured MI's fifth straight win.
This was Mumbai's 150th win in IPL history, the first to reach this milestone, and also the first for the five-time champions over LSG in the league phase.
But Pant said his decision to bowl first did not impact the match as they were outplayed by a side that played better.
"It (bowling first) was the right decision for us, we back our batting. We want to give the bowlers the best conditions, but today was not our day. The other team is also playing good cricket, and you have to give them credit instead of questioning ourselves. But we can figure it out because we have a break," said Pant after his team slumped to their fifth defeat in 10 matches. This was their second loss in a row and leaves them glued to sixth position in the table.
While his team slumped to another defeat, Pant continued to struggle for form as he got out on the second ball to Will Jacks after hitting him for a four off the first delivery. Pant, who usually bats in the middle-order, came in to bat at No. 4 but could not capitalise on it.
He defended his decision to promote himself and said he is not thinking much about his repeated failures with the bat. Pant has managed only 110 runs in 10 matches with his a 63 against Chennai Super Kings as his highest for the season.
"I am not thinking about it too much. In a season like this, you can start questioning yourself, and I don't want to do that. Every time you take out that individual is not the right thing to do.
The only positive for LSG in this match was the return to action by young tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav, who has produced the fastest delivery of IPL 2024, clocked at 155.8 kmph. Yadav claimed 2-40 in four overs as he operated in the 140-kmph range on Sunday.
"It was good to see him coming back. He is getting into his rhythm. Hopeful he becomes better and better," said Pant after the match.
--IANS
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