Pant's 118* sets RCB 228 to seal top-two spot

Innings Lucknow Super Giants 227 for 3 (Pant 118*, Marsh 67, Thushara 1-26) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

It was too late for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) but Rishabh Pant was at his destructive best against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last league game of IPL 2025. Batting at No. 3 on a mixed-soil pitch in Lucknow, Pant smashed 118 not out off 61 balls - a knock studded with 11 fours and eight sixes. RCB need 228 if they are to finish in the top two.

After RCB opted to bowl, Nuwan Thushara shattered Matthew Breetzke's off stump in the third over with the age-old bouncer-yorker trick. But Pant was off to a flying start. In the fourth over, he hit Yash Dayal for a six and two fours to move to 19 off just eight. This was already his third-highest score of the season.

RCB's decision not to bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar until the fifth over of the chase was also baffling, especially after Thushara had found swing in the opening over. In the seventh over, with no swing on offer, Bhuvneshwar went short. Pant duly pulled him over deep midwicket for a six. On the next delivery, Livingstone failed to flick the ball back at deep square leg and ended up conceding a boundary. Soon, Pant brought up his fifty, off 29 balls.

Mitchell Marsh, who was on 33 off 23 after ten overs, also joined in. Off his next eight balls, he smashed 20 to bring up his sixth 50-plus score of the season.

Bhuvneshwar eventually broke the 152-run stand off 78 balls by having Marsh caught behind in the 16th over. But given that Marsh had started that over with two consecutive sixes and Pant ended it with a four, 20 came from it.

Pant was unstoppable, though. He brought up his hundred with a Pant shot and followed it up with a Pant celebration. It was a full and wide delivery from Bhuvneshwar. Pant reached out to it and scythed it over extra cover for four. By the time he completed the shot, his front leg was in the air, beyond parallel to the ground, the toe pointing towards deep midwicket. He looked up, removed his helmet and gloves and did a frontflip to celebrate the landmark. The LSG dugout stood up to applaud, as did the home crowd.

Jitesh Sharma, who once again stood in for Rajat Patidar, erred in the over distribution. Krunal Pandya, who had bowled the second over of the innings, sent down just one more and finished with 2-0-14-0, while Romario Shepherd registered 4-0-51-1.