Lucknow Super Giants' hopes of making it to the playoff finally came to an end on Tuesday after they were beaten by Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets. This has been LSG's ninth defeat in 13 matches, which has left them rooted to the bottom of the points table. Despite the disappointing outcome, captain Rishabh Pant tried to remain positive after the match, insisting that the squad still possesses quality and potential.

However, the numbers tell a different story. LSG's campaign has been plagued by inconsistency, especially with the bat. Pant himself endured one of the toughest seasons of his IPL career, repeatedly failing to convert starts into meaningful contributions. So far, he has managed to rack up 555 runs. 

“Like I said, we are proud as a team regardless of what our situation is right now,” Pant said at the post-match presentation.

“The kind of team we have, we know we can win this. Regardless of anything, we are confident enough as a team and as individuals. It hasn’t gone our way, and everyone knows that,” he said.

“But that doesn’t take away the fact that we are a f***ing good team," Pant added.

Talking about the match, Lucknow Super Ginats, after being asked to bat, got a blistering start, with openers Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis blitzing 96 and 60 runs respectively. Notably, Mitchell Marsh, who, before this knock, blasted a century, had taken several matches to find his rhythm earlier in the tournament. Providing the late flourish was Rishabh Pant, who smashed 35 off 23 to power LSG to a great total of 220/5 in 20 overs.

The problem for LSG came while defending the total, as they failed to contain the onslaught from 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who blasted 93 off 38 balls to keep Royals' hopes of reaching the play-offs alive. Their bowlers had no answers to the fearless assault launched by Rajasthan’s opening pair. Following the aggressive batting, RR went over the line in 19.1 overs.