‘Aimless as a captain’ – Shaun Pollock strong words for LSG captain Rishabh Pant after MI defeat

Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has labelled Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant ‘aimless’ following their defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, May 4.

Pollock questions Pant for not being proactive when MI were scoring runs at a very quick rate at the top of the innings. Instead of trying to force the batters to make an error and get their wicket, Pant seemed to wait for the openers to make a mistake without any plan.

“Sometimes in such games, it almost looks like you are aimless as a captain. When two players are flying like they were at the top of the order for MI, you feel like there is nothing you can do. But it looked like there were no clear-cut plans on how they were going to pick up a wicket or restrict scoring. It didn’t look like they went to something unique, but more a case of them hoping the MI openers get out,” Pollock said on Cricbuzz.

The Super Giants 228 from their quota of 20 overs in the first innings, which MI chased down with relative ease, with more than an over to spare. This was mainly down to the opening partnership forged by Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma, who put 143 runs on the board for the first wicket in 10.5 overs. Rickelton scored 83 at a strike-rate of 259.38, whilst the returning Rohit hit 84 from 44 balls. The game was all but gone from LSG’s grasp, with the hosts needing just 86 runs from nine overs.

Pant’s side are currently at the bottom of the IPL standings, having lost their last six matches on the bounce. They have picked up just four points all season long and are all but out of the running to secure a place in the top four. Their next game is against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday, May 7.

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