Ahead of Lucknow Super Giants’ match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rishabh Pant made no commitment about his starting spot. When Pant was asked at the time of the toss whether he would open the innings, he showed a faint smile and struggled to give a straight answer. After a brief pause, he told broadcaster Pommy Mbangwa that he would decide on the batting order when his turn came.

Pant’s response raises an important question, has LSG started to rethink their plans after just one game this season?

In his opening match against Delhi Capitals, Pant had promoted himself to open the innings with Mitchell Marsh. Despite his good performances last season, the move pushed in-form Aiden Markram down the order.

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However, Pant failed to take advantage of the opportunity and was out after scoring just 7 runs from 9 balls before being run out at the non-striker’s end. The early shock left LSG reeling on home soil and they never really recovered.

LSG could score only 141 runs, which Pant’s former team Delhi Capitals easily achieved in 17.1 overs. After the match, Pant was seen having an animated discussion with the team owner and coach, a moment that reminded many of KL Rahul’s time in the franchise.

On Sunday, in LSG’s second match of the season, Pant’s inability to give clear answers about his batting position raised further concerns about the clarity of the team’s approach. The wicketkeeper-batsman had done important work before the season, Which also includes training with Yuvraj SinghIn an attempt to revive his white-ball career, which has been stalled in recent times.

But the fact that the captain appears unsure of his role after just one game is an ominous sign for LSG fans.

IPL 2026: SRH vs LSG

Meanwhile, in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first home match of the season, Rishabh Pant won the toss and decided to bowl first, believing the pitch would be difficult in the first six overs.

LSG made one change to their playing eleven, with Manimaran Siddhartha replacing Anrich Nortje.

Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan was happy to return to Hyderabad and the support of the home crowd. He stressed the importance of remaining calm and executing plans well in T20 cricket.

“It’s always good to have support at home and the crowd loves the SRH team. So yes, very happy to be here. There are only two changes. Livingstone comes in and Harshal Patel comes in. Harshal Patel, whenever he has bowled here, has done well. And Livi has given him a chance to use his off-spin against left-handed batsmen as well,” Ishan said at the toss.

“Especially in T20, execution is the most important thing. You have to be in a good mind, stay calm and try to save as many runs as possible. So just plan well and execute on your balls. And I guess let’s see how it goes from there. It’s really important for us to get these two points. But at the same time, we need to stay calm, focus on one match at a time. And that’s the whole plan. In a good mind Be like I said before, and just play your best game.” Kishan added.

While LSG is coming off the back of a defeat, SRH had defeated KKR in their previous game. Ishan Kishan’s side will be hoping to build on this with their first home win of the season.

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