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After LSG's first win of the IPL 2025, owner Sanjiv Goenka celebrated with the team, sharing a heartfelt hug with captain Rishabh Pant.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka was a happy man after his side registered their first win of the IPL 2025 with five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, March 27.
With a target of 191, Lucknow Super Giants chased it down with 23 balls to spare. Nicholas Pooran led the batting with an incredible knock of 70 off 26 balls, including 6 sixes and as many fours, at an impressive strike rate of 269.23. Also, Pooran formed a crucial 116-run partnership for the second wicket with Mitchell Marsh, who played brilliant innings of 52 off 31 balls. Apart from Pooran and Marsh, David Miller (13) and Ayush Badoni (22) also chipped in with an unbeaten 29-run stand for the sixth wicket to take LSG through the finish line.
After the win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka met the players on the ground. The 64-year-old business tycoon was seen sharing a heartwarming moment with the LSG captain Rishabh Pant. In a video posted by LSG on its X handle, Sanjiv Goenka was seen giving a tight hug to Pant, who took a risky decision to opt for bowling rather than batting first despite SRH’s strong batting line-up. He even interacted with other players, especially Shardul Thakur who got the Purple Cap
Our Chairman, Dr. Sanjiv Goenka, extends heartfelt congratulations to the team on their first win, and encourages to focus on giving the best 💙 pic.twitter.com/9ckEd6J6MF
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL)Rishabh Pant’s decision to opt for bowling after winning the toss left the fans and experts surprised. His bold decision turned out to be successful as LSG bowlers led by Shardul Thakur (4/34) restricted SRH to 190/9. Prince Yadav emerged as hero for the visitors as he removed dangerous Travis Head for 47. Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi, and Ravi Bishnoi too contributed to LSG’s bowling by taking a wicket each to restrict Sunrisers below 200.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant failed to make an impact with the bat as he was dismissed for 15 runs. In the Lucknow Super Giants’ opening match against Delhi Capitals, Pant was removed for a duck. The wicketkeeper-batter is the most expensive player in the IPL history after LSG snapped him for INR 27 crore at the IPL 2025 Auction in November last year.
Reflecting on LSG’s first win of the season, skipper Rishabh Pant stated that the team talked about the process rather than focusing on what cannot be controlled. He also praised Shardul Thakur and Prince Yadav for their bowling. Additionally, Pant spoke about the importance of giving freedom to batters like Nicholas Pooran.
“Big relief but as a team we talk about the process. It's not about getting too high when you win and not about getting too low when you lose. As a team, we can't focus on uncontrollables, my mentor said focus on controllables and that is what I did.” LSG skipper said at the post-match presentation.
“Good to see the way Prince bowled and also Thakur was really good.
“(On Pooran batting at No. 3) I think we just want to give freedom to him. You got to give someone the charge when he is batting well and he has batted brilliantly for us. The group is coming up nicely, we haven't played our best so far but happy to get a win.” Pant added.
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