Fortune doesn’t always favour the bold, perhaps. Well, it sure didn’t favour Rishabh Pant today.
In what was a bold call, Lucknow Super Giants promoted their skipper Pant up the batting order to open the innings
in their IPL 2026 opener against Delhi Capitals.
Yet, it didn’t quite pay off.
A Surprise At The Top
All the pre-match speculation centred around LSG’s No. 3. Instead, Pant himself provided the answer by walking out to open the innings.
It marked only the second time in his IPL career that the left-hander has taken up the role — executed this time around, in hopes of reshaping the batting order and possibly leveraging a left-right combination to open the innings.
However, the experiment was short-lived.
Pant’s Unfortunate Dismissal
Pant struggled to find rhythm early on and managed just 7 runs off 9 balls, with his innings coming to an abrupt end in unusual fashion.
An unfortunate run out for Rishabh Pant to begin the season 😮
Early success for @delhicapitals ☝️#LSG 37/1 in5⃣overs
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2026
In the third over, Mitchell Marsh struck a straight, lofted shot off Mukesh Kumar, who attempted a caught-and-bowled chance. The ball brushed Mukesh’s outstretched hand, deflected sharply, and crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end — catching Pant well out of his crease.
And that bizarre run-out — more misfortune than error — sent the skipper back to the pavilion.
Pant, for his part, could only respond with a wry smile as he walked back, aware of the unusual nature of his dismissal — while LSG head coach Justin Langer appeared visibly disappointed as the early gamble backfired.
Whether LSG will stick to the new script and send Pant out to open again remains to be seen.
