IPL 2025: Ambati Rayudu questions Rishabh Pant’s shot selection after LSG loss against DC

Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu has criticized Rishabh Pant’s shot selection after Delhi Capitals stunned Lucknow Super Giants by one wicket at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Monday.

Pant, leading LSG for the first time, was dismissed for a six-ball duck, when his team was in a pole position. In the 13th over of the innings, Nicholas Pooran smashed part-time spinner Tristan Stubbs for 28 runs, including four consecutive sixes. 

In the next over, Pant could not rotate the strike on the first three balls against Kuldeep Yadav and was caught at long-off by Faf du Plessis while trying to go for the big shot on the fourth ball. 

The LSG captain was dismissed for a six-ball duck and from there on, LSG lost momentum, which they had gathered.

Ambati Rayudu said on ESPN Cricinfo, “We have talked about his (Pant) shot selection against spin. He is going for that six option rather than playing a four to build an innings or play gaps. So that batsmanship quality needs to be improved in his game, especially in the middle overs if he wants to bat in the middle overs.”

“It all started from there. Once your captain gets out and Badoni, whose strike rate against spin is not great, it’s not a great batting lineup against slow bowling that LSG have.”

On the other hand, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden said Pant should have tried to get in-form Nicholas Pooran on strike as the West Indies batter was going all guns blazing at the other end.

“He wasted six balls as well. To me, that’s that batsmanship, especially when the previous over went for 28. The reality is to try and understand that you may have one or two balls but then you’ve got to get off strike and he is surely good enough to be able to do that. Feed the bloke that’s actually smashing them, just keep it simple like that.”

Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.