IPL: What’s gone wrong for LSG? Pant’s form, captaincy, batting woes derail campaign

NEW DELHI: Nothing seems to beryllium going close for Lucknow Super Giants successful the IPL 2026 season. With six consecutive defeats, the franchise remains rooted to the bottommost of the points table, and their playoff hopes are hanging by the thinnest of threads.After 9 matches, LSG person conscionable 2 wins and 4 points. Their past triumph came astir a period agone — back-to-back wins against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders successful aboriginal April. Since then, it has been a steep and sustained decline, with defeats piling up and assurance visibly draining from the squad.Playoff equation turning near-impossibleMathematically, LSG are inactive successful contention. With 5 matches remaining, they tin scope 14 points if they triumph each of them — a full that has historically been capable to sneak into the apical four.

But the borderline for mistake is present zero.Three of their remaining fixtures are against teams presently successful the apical four, including Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. One much slip-up, and their run is arsenic bully arsenic over.ALSO READ: IPL 2026 playoff qualification scenarios - LSG hopes each but gone aft six consecutive lossesPant’s signifier and enactment nether scannerAt the centre of LSG’s struggles is skipper Rishabh Pant. The league’s astir costly subordinate has endured a disappointing play with the bat, scoring 204 runs successful 9 innings astatine an mean of 25.50 and a onslaught complaint of 128.30.

For a subordinate known for his attacking flair, those numbers underline a wide dip successful impact.Pant has conscionable 1 fifty-plus people this season, and his inability to person starts has wounded LSG severely successful crunch moments. His captaincy has besides been questioned, peculiarly his changeless reshuffling of the batting order. In aggregate matches, LSG person fielded antithetic opening combinations, preventing immoderate stableness astatine the top.After the nonaccomplishment to Mumbai Indians, Pant admitted, “I deliberation we request immoderate bully luck,” a connection that reflected some vexation and the deficiency of answers wrong the camp.However, caput manager Justin Langer continues to backmost his skipper strongly. He pointed to a caller signifier crippled wherever Pant smashed a blistering 95 successful nether 40 balls arsenic impervious that a turnaround is close.“We played a signifier crippled present 2 days ago, and Rishi… possibly 95 disconnected 40 oregon 30 balls—you’re conscionable looking astatine it and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Rishabh Pant astatine his precise best,’” Langer said.Despite that reassurance, lucifer performances person not followed, leaving Pant nether increasing unit with each passing game.

Bowling: decent connected paper, leaking astatine cardinal momentsOn paper, LSG boast 1 of the stronger bowling attacks successful the league, with experienced internationals and breathtaking home talent. And statistically, the numbers are not alarming astatine archetypal glance.LSG person conceded 200-plus totals lone doubly successful 9 games — a respectable fig successful a play wherever precocious scores person been frequent.

Their wide system complaint arsenic a portion has hovered astir the mid-8s, indicating decent power successful phases.Young pacer Prince Yadav has been a standout performer, picking up 13 wickets successful 9 matches astatine an system of 8.06, placing him among the apical wicket-takers this season. Mohsin Khan has besides chipped successful with 10 wickets successful conscionable 5 matches, albeit astatine a higher system complaint of 12.However, the cracks person appeared successful important moments. LSG conceded 254/7 against Punjab Kings — the highest full against them this play — and failed to support 228 against Mumbai Indians.

Their decease bowling has been inconsistent, often allowing opponents to accelerate dramatically successful the last overs.

Batting collapses specify the seasonIf 1 country genuinely explains LSG’s downfall, it is their batting inconsistency. The informing signs were evident from the precise archetypal lucifer erstwhile they were bowled retired for 141 astatine home. Even successful victories, the batting portion looked fragile, scraping done chases successful the last over.Across 9 matches, LSG person crossed the 180-run people lone 3 times, portion besides being bowled retired thrice.

Their mean squad full has hovered astir the mid-160s — good beneath par successful a play dominated by large scores.After their aboriginal wins, the batting portion collapsed repeatedly. Scores of 164/5 and 146 each retired were comfortably chased down by opponents. Against Rajasthan Royals, they were bowled retired for 119 portion chasing 160, highlighting their inability to grip pressure.Even successful matches wherever the batting clicked, specified arsenic the crippled against Punjab Kings wherever they chased a monolithic 254, the effort fell abbreviated owed to the sheer standard of the target.

Against Kolkata Knight Riders, they failed to decorativeness disconnected and tied the lucifer instead. And mislaid successful the Super Over, managing conscionable 1 tally — a infinitesimal that summed up their struggles nether pressure.Nicholas Pooran

is wholly out-of-form but for a 21-ball 63 against MI connected Monday.

Mitchell Marsh

leads the scoring charts for LSG with 256 runs astatine a onslaught complaint of 139.13, followed by Aiden Markram with 224 runs. However, some are extracurricular the apical 20 successful the Orange Cap standings — reflecting the team’s wide underperformance.

Constant changes and a play slipping distant fastOne of the defining features of LSG’s run has been instability. From batting-order reshuffles to changes successful squad combinations, the broadside has struggled to settee connected a accordant approach.The opening brace has changed aggregate times, the mediate bid has been shuffled frequently, and adjacent bowling roles person lacked clarity. This deficiency of continuity has prevented players from uncovering bushed and gathering partnerships.So, LSG’s struggles stem from a operation of factors: underperformance from cardinal players, deficiency of batting stability, inability to adjacent retired games, and lapses successful important moments with the ball.Despite occasional agleam spots — similar Prince Yadav’s emergence and isolated batting performances — the squad has failed to click collectively. With six consecutive defeats and the toughest portion of their docket inactive ahead, the play is rapidly slipping away.Unless Rishabh Pant and his squad nutrient an bonzer turnaround, IPL 2026 is acceptable to beryllium remembered arsenic a run wherever astir everything that could spell wrong, did spell incorrect for Lucknow Super Giants.