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Pant’s leadership struggle
Skipper Rishabh Pant’s leadership has come under scrutiny, with critics questioning his R27 crore price tag at last season’s mega auction. The wicketkeeper-batter has been criticised for some poor on-field decision-making, the most costly being when he chose not to take a LBW review against Punjab Kings’s Cooper Connolly recently. The Australian, who was then on four, went on to smash 87 off 46 balls and take the game away from LSG. The pressure of captaincy seems to have affected Pant’s batting too, with his strike-rate dipping significantly as he tries to play the more responsible role of an anchor instead of his flashy, but natural attacking display.
147
No. of runs scored by Rishabh Pant in seven IPL matches this season @ 24.50
Unsettled opening pair
LSG openers Mitchell Marsh (left) and Ayush Badoni during Wednesday’s defeat to RR
The most evident issue behind LSG’s flop batting show has been the constant shuffling of the opening pair. They tried skipper Pant at the top in the opener against Delhi Capitals, but the move backfired as he managed just seven. Then, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh’s opening stand produced three 30-plus partnerships in four innings before it was broken up too. LSG are now experimenting with Ayush Badoni alongside Marsh. The duo did well against PBKS (scoring 61 in the first six overs) before managing just nine against RR.
Pooran’s poor show
LSG’s Nicholas Pooran is clean bowled by Josh Hazlewood against RCB in Bengaluru recently
The biggest heartbreak for LSG this season has been the dip in Nicholas Pooran’s form. The West Indian big-hitter was the backbone of LSG’s batting line-up last season, smashing 524 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 196.25. However, this year has been a nightmare for him, having scored just 73 in seven games at a poor strike-rate of 82.02. Known to be a finisher, his inability to score quickly has exposed the lower-order, leaving LSG struggling to chase down or post big totals.
82.02
Nicholas Pooran’s strike-rate this season — his lowest-ever in the IPL
Horror on home soil
The Ekana Stadium hasn’t been the fortress LSG quite hoped for. They have lost all three home ties this season, getting dismissed inside 19 overs twice. Wednesday’s defeat to RR extended LSG’s losing streak at the Ekana Stadium to seven matches (including four matches of last season). The batters, in particular, are struggling to adapt to the pace and bounce of the pitch, with the short ball troubling them consistently.
Failure of batting department
While the Mohammed Shami-led bowling unit has been LSG’s biggest positive, restricting opponents to under 190 in three of the four instances while bowling first, the batting department has struggled. Big-hitters Pant, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, and Mitchell Marsh have particularly not dominated the opposition bowlers consistently. Shockingly, the highest strike-rate in the side this season is just 151.40, held by Markram, which indicates that the rest haven’t been aggressive enough. The top-order’s struggles have added immense pressure on the middle-order, leading to collapses and low totals.
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