Rishabh Pant admits slow over-rate woes hurt LSG in IPL 2025 T20 matches

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant has openly admitted that the team's slow over-rate woes significantly hurt their IPL 2025 T20 campaign. Pant was fined a hefty 930 lakh for the third slow over-rate offence this season, a penalty higher than the usual fine for captains.

Despite Pant's stellar batting performance, including an unbeaten 118 off 61 balls featuring eight sixes and 11 fours, the team struggled to maintain the required pace of play. "Eventually you got to play 40 overs of good cricket," Pant said after a loss to RCB, adding, "20 overs will definitely not save you in a T20 game and that's been our story."

The slow over-rate issue was compounded by injuries in the pace bowling department, as noted by LSG mentor Zaheer Khan, who said the team couldn't find a settled attack despite several experiments. However, Pant highlighted positives from the season, praising the batting unit's rise and some special bowling performances.

Pant ended the campaign on a high note with his 61-ball century, which Zaheer Khan believes will provide a strong foundation for the team moving forward. The fines extended beyond Pant, with other playing XI members also penalized either ₹12 lakh or 50% of their match fees.

The combination of slow over-rates and injury setbacks has been a key challenge for LSG, but the leadership remains optimistic about building on the season's positives for IPL 2026.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant acknowledged that slow over-rate issues, resulting in a hefty ₹30 lakh fine, negatively impacted the team's IPL 2025 T20 campaign. Despite his unbeaten 118 off 61 balls, Pant admitted that playing only 20 overs of good cricket was insufficient in T20 matches.