The IPL 2025 season has already delivered nail-biting finishes and Match 4 between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was no exception. DC snatched a thrilling one-wicket victory thanks to an incredible fightback led by former Punjab Kings player Ashutosh Sharma (66 off 31), Tristan Stubbs (34), and debutant Vipraj Nigam.

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While LSG’s bowling attack had DC reeling at 65/5 their failure to close out the game raised questions about Rishabh Pant’s captaincy particularly his decision to not use Shardul Thakur in the death overs.

Former CSK star Ambati Rayudu weighed in on Pant’s strategy comparing it to MS Dhoni’s approach of trusting spinners in crunch situations. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo’s post-match show Rayudu suggested that Pant wasn’t at fault but rather the execution from his bowlers let LSG down.

“I think he was trying to maybe do what MS Dhoni used to do, especially bowling spinners in the end. And his spinners actually let him down. To be very honest, I don’t think it’s the captaincy. I think it’s the bowling execution that has let him and LSG down.”

However after the match Pant defended his team’s effort stating that LSG had enough runs on the board but lost control in the middle overs. He emphasized the importance of learning from each match.

“I think the runs were enough on the board. The batters batted really well. We may have lost momentum in the middle, but I think that was a pretty good score on this wicket. As a team, we are looking to take positives from every match and learn from it. The more we get the basics right, the better we will get.” he added.