Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) happened to face defeat against Delhi Capitals (DC) by one gut-wrenching wicket in the inaugural match of IPL season 2025 on the previous Monday. LSG looked to have had the match under their control and put up the mammoth target of 210 to bring DC to a very dismal 65/5.
However, it was the Impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma who turned the story around with a rapid-fire 66 runs off just 28 deliveries to gift victory to DC in the last over. Rishabh Pant, the captain of LSG, was seen passionately discussing the entire issue with head coach Justin Langer and franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka.
Memes of the discussion started to trend on social media, with a few users recalling Sanjiv Goenka’s infamous conversation with former captain KL Rahul soiling the franchise after a heavy loss in the IPL 2024, a loss that caused a huge uproar.
Then came a video uploaded by LSG showing Goenka in a heartfelt interview, motivating and pushing players after this so-called “disappointing loss.” “Lots of positive that I take away from this game in batting, in bowling,” he said in an LSG-released video.
“The way we had the Powerplay in both batting and bowling was brilliant. We are a young team. Let’s look at the positives and look forward from tomorrow to the 27th. And hopefully, we’ll have a better result. Disappointing result but great game. So, well done,” he stated.
Pant had everything to gain in the last over, including missing the stumping vs. Mohit Sharma to call for DRS on an lbw the review revealed much to the Capitals’ relief that the ball had gone past the stumps. On the next delivery, there was a mix-up between Mohit and Ashutosh which resulted in a single, and Ashutosh celebrated by smashing a six down the ground to seal the victory.
