In the recent game between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Delhi Capitals (DC), something unexpected happened that left everyone talking. LSG’s captain, Rishabh Pant, chose to send Abdul Samad up the batting order instead of more established players like David Miller and himself. It was surprising to see Pant come out to bat at number seven, especially after Ayush Badoni, the impact player, had already gone in. In the end, Pant didn’t score any runs at all, which raised a lot of eyebrows.
Cheteshwar Pujara, a seasoned batsman from India, voiced his concerns about Pant’s choices. He suggested that Pant should avoid trying to mimic MS Dhoni’s style of play, especially when it comes to finishing games. Pujara expressed his confusion, saying, “I honestly don’t get what he was thinking. He really should be batting higher in the lineup. He might be trying to play like Dhoni, but he’s just not at that level yet. I believe he fits better in the middle overs, between the 6th and 15th, rather than trying to finish the game when he’s not really built for that role.”
The decision to put Samad in after Nicholas Pooran had already been dismissed didn’t work out well either. Samad only managed two runs across eight balls before returning to the dugout. Meanwhile, Miller struggled as well, only scoring 14 runs off 15 balls. It was Badoni who really helped LSG pick up the pace with a fiery 36 runs off just 21 balls, which was crucial, but overall, LSG could only manage a score of 159 for six, which many considered a bit low. Badoni even mentioned during the innings break that the team felt they could have posted a better total if things had gone differently.
