The IPL 2025 season was a mixed bag for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). They played some impressive cricket but failed to sustain the winning momentum for longer periods of time. The Rishabh Pant-led side finished seventh on the points table with six wins in 14 games. While their bowlers were mostly up to the task, it was their batting that led them down on several occasions.
Wheels starting to come off for LSG
Seven games into IPL 2026, LSG are again lurching in the bottom half of the table. With just two wins and as many as five losses, LSG have slipped to ninth place. Their bowlers have yet again stepped up to the challenge on most occasions, but their batters are unable to put together a string of consistent performances.
What’s worse is that they have separated the opening duo of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, which was by far the brightest spot in their otherwise ordinary batting performance last season.
The Markram-Marsh duo was the second-most prolific duo in terms of run-scoring in IPL 2025. Together they scored 574 runs at an average of 47.83, stitching a century and four half-century partnerships. They won several games singlehandedly and made life easier for those who followed them in the batting order.
Still, LSG came out with a new look, opening pair of Rishabh Pant and Mitchell Marsh in their IPL 2026 opener against Delhi Capitals. The partnership could only manage 19 runs in three overs before Pant was run out.
Better sense prevailed as LSG recalibrated and brought Marsh and Markram together for their second game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). They clicked and added 37 off 4.4 overs at a run rate of 8.40 as Lucknow won the game by five wickets.
The opening pair was on song in the next game against KKR too. Chasing 182 at the Eden Gardens, Marsh and Markram added 41 in 4.1 overs at 10 an over. LSG won the nail-biter by three wickets with the help of a heroic effort by Mukul Choudhary.
They had a blip against Gujarat Titans as they could only add 14 before Kagiso Rabada dismissed Marsh. But they dusted themselves off and added 32 at 8 an over against RCB in the next match.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
But LSG decided to separate the duo and made Ayush Badoni open against Punjab Kings in match No. 29. Badoni and Marsh added 61 in six overs at a marginally over 10 an over before the former got out. But interestingly, LSG needed to score at 12.75 an over as they were chasing 255, and therefore it wasn’t the kind of explosive start they were after.
The 32nd match of IPL 2026 showcased why it is significant for teams to remain consistent in their calls. Chasing just 160, LSG were expected to stroll to the target, but a mix-up between Badoni and Marsh resulted in the former getting run out, and LSG were 9/1 in one over. LSG eventually bottled the chase and lost by 40 runs.
As matches come thick and fast in the 19th edition of the IPL, there is a need for LSG’s team management needs to revisit the adage, “Why fix something that ain’t broken?” Otherwise, this could very well end up as an opportunity that got away.
