- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
LSG vs DC IPL 2026: Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant came into bat as an opener during their tournament opener against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Pant batting as the opener meant that the Lucknow-based franchise had to do away with their star opening duo of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, where Markram was pushed down the order. This duo of Markram and Marsh had scored 574 runs at a staggering average of 47.83 and a strike rate of 9.13.
Pant's plans of playing as an opener didn't go in his favor as he scored just seven runs off nine balls and then was dismissed due to a run-out at the non-strikers' end.
At the same time, Pant hasn't been successful while playing as an opener in this tournament. He batted at the No.4 position for this franchise last year and had registered one of the best knocks of 118 runs against the Rajat Patidar-led side, and that too when he batted at the No.3 position. He had played as an opener in just one match last year, scoring 21 runs off 18 balls against GT, and that too in Marsh's absence.
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Before that, the only time he played as an opener in this tournament was during his debut season way back in 2016. He batted as an opener in four matches, where he scored 104 runs off 76 balls. He had scored just one brilliant knock as an opener in that season, as he had scored 69 runs off 40 balls against the Gujarat Lions.
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Pant has also batted as an opener for India in the shortest format, scoring 71 runs off 52 balls.