LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka can't keep calm, gives Rishabh Pant tight hug in internet-breaking moment after SRH win
One year apart, against the same opposition, Lucknow dugout witnessed two contrasting scenes.
One year apart, Lucknow Super Giants dugout witnessed two contrasting scenes after their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2024, LSG suffered a defeat at home against the 2016 champions, which sparked a strong reaction from owner Sanjiv Goenka, who had an animated chat with then-captain KL Rahul. However, the founder and chairman of RPSG Group was all smiles on Thursday as he hugged current captain Rishabh Pant as LSG beat SRH by five wickets in their second game of the ongoing IPL 2025.
Pant's move to bowl first on the Hyderabad track did raise eyebrows, especially after Sunrisers had smashed a colossal 286 runs in their opening game against Rajasthan Royals batting first. However, the bowlers, led by Shardul Thakur, vindicated the call as they restricted the hosts to 190 for nine in 20 overs. The all-rounder, who had gone unsold at the auction last year and bagged a last-minute IPL contract with Lucknow, picked four wickets.
Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh then put on a fiery show against the Sunrisers bowling attack, both scoring their second consecutive half-century scores as Lucknow chased down the target with 23 balls to spare.
Goenka couldn't keep after the match as he hugged Pant tightly. Team mentor Zaheer Khan could not stop smiling looking at the scene. The trio then shared a small chat before the proceedings headed to the post-match presentation. The sight came just a few days after Goenka was seen having an animated chat with Pant after the tea and suffered a heart-breaking loss against Delhi Capitals in their opener in Vizag, leaving fans fearing a KL Rahul moment.
Notably, the relationship between Rahul and Goenka had turned sour after the much-criticised scene last year, before the former had parted ways with the franchise ahead of the auction in November. He was roped in by Delhi for INR 14 crore.
Pant heaves sigh of relief
Pant admitted that it was a huge sigh of relief for him having claimed his first win as a captain of LSG. He also praised Thakur for his performance and Prince Yadav, who dismissed Tavis Head on his IPL debut.
"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. Good to see the way Prince bowled and also Thakur was really good," he said.
