Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant demoted himself down the order to No.7 in the first innings of their match against Delhi Capitals today (April 22). Here's why.
Pant had only batted lower than six twice before in T20 matches, and not since 2016. In LSG's last fixture against Rajasthan Royals, Pant came in at No.4, where he has spent most of his time this season despite sliding up and down LSG's order, and scored three runs off nine balls before he was out caught behind off Wanindu Hasaranga. Against his old franchise Delhi however, he demoted himself behind Abdul Samad, David Miller and Impact Player Ayush Badoni before coming out to bat.
He only faced two balls in the innings, the last two of the final over, missing a wild slog off the first one and being bowled by Mukesh Kumar off the second. While there is no official explanation for why Pant pushed himself so far down the order, there are some potential reasons.
Match 40, Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals
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Injury
When Pant walked out to bat, he had visible bandaging on his right hand, signalling that he was in trouble with an injury. He looked in pain as he batted, but did take the gloves to keep wicket at the start of Delhi's innings. There is no official word from LSG as to the specific injury Pant is struggling with.
Tactical decision
There could also be a strategic reason behind Pant's self-demotion. Pant lowered himself down the order in Delhi Capitals' match against KKR earlier in the season, and didn't come out to bat in the end. He explained that move as wanting a left-right hand combination and the openers getting off to a great start.
Openers Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh put on 87 runs together in the first 10 overs against DC, with Nicholas Pooran slated to come in at No.3. When Pooran was out, he left Aiden Markram at the crease as a right-hander, meaning that explanation might not make as much sense this time as Pant bats left-handed, and would have completed that desired combination. Equally, LSG promoted the right-handed Abdul Samad above Pant, meaning the left-right combination definitely wasn't on their minds.
The other tactical explnation could be that Pant wanted to promote batters with better form this season above himself to keep the scoring rate ticking along. Before this match, Pant had made just 106 runs from seven innings at a strike rate of 98. However, this also seems slightly at odds with reality, as Abdul Samad, having played some cameos lower down the order, was making his first appearance of the season at No.4, and David Miller's highest score of the competition coming into the game was 27.
Ayush Badoni coming in as Impact Player makes some sense given his explosive 50 in LSG's last game, but Pant's extreme demotion feels at odds with legitimate strategy decisions, suggesting it could primarily be down to a combination of the unconfirmed hand niggle and the lack of form and confidence with the bat.
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