"We are happy to have Nicholas Pooran": Rishabh Pant's huge remarks after LSG beat GT

In the 26th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) went head-to-head with the Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT).

Lucknow Super Giants won against Gujarat Titans by 6 wickets on Saturday, April 12, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Also Read: "The ball was stopping": Shubman Gill blames pitch for GT's loss to LSG

Definitely feeling happy - Rishabh Pant

Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. They were taken to cleaners by Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan but made a brilliant comeback to restrict GT below 200. Shardul Thakur and Ravi Bishnoi bagged two wickets each while Digvesh Rathi and Avesh Khan got one wicket each as LSG restricted GT to 180/6.

Chasing the target, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran smashed brilliant half-centuries fifties while Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni contributed with 20s to help LSG complete the run-chase in 19.3 overs.

Speaking after the match, Rishabh Pant expressed delight over his team's win. He said:

"Definitely feeling happy. We just follow the same path and believe in our ability and just take one game at a time. The idea was to bowl yorkers and into the wicket slower balls (On how they kept GT in check towards the end).

You want someone like that to be in our team than the opposition - Rishabh Pant on Nicholas Pooran

Rishabh Pant further lauded his bowlers for doing a good job in the latter half of the innings. He also lavished rich praise on Nicholas Pooran and said LSG is lucky to have him. He stated:

"Bowlers put it in the right place to pull it back for us. The start (with the ball) wasn't happy but the way we pulled it back was amazing. I am feeling much better with every game. The more time I spend on the wicket I am going to feel better.

"We are happy to have Nicholas Pooran in our team. You want someone like that to be in our team than the opposition. The way he has been batting is phenomenal."

How did LSG perform in the previous IPL match against GT?

In their previous IPL clash against the Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) delivered a complete performance to secure a 33-run win, which was their first-ever victory over Gujarat Titans.

After electing to bat first, LSG faced early setbacks as Umesh Yadav removed Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal in the powerplay.

However, KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis built a steady partnership, though Rahul’s 33 came at a slow pace, Stoinis notched up a well-paced 58 off 43 balls. Later cameos from Nicholas Pooran (32* off 22) and Ayush Badoni (20 off 11) pushed the score to a competitive 163/5.

Defending the total, LSG lost Mayank Yadav's services as he left the field after bowling just one over. But the rest of the bowling unit rose to the occasion. Yash Thakur was the standout performer, delivering a match-winning spell of 5/30 as he cleaned up GT’s key batters, including Shubman Gill, to derail their chase.

Krunal Pandya was equally impressive, returning with figures of 3/11 in four overs and other LSG bowlers kept chipping in wickets to bowl out GT for 130 in 18.5 overs.