Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant shared his views after his side’s seven-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Tuesday, insisting that they remain ‘a f***ing good team’ despite registering another loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. LSG, though eliminated from the play-offs race, posted 220/5 in 20 overs on a batting-friendly surface. Still, the Rajasthan Royals reached the total in just 19.1 overs comfortably.

“We are proud as a team regardless of what our situation is right now. 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, but that doesn’t take away the fact that we are a f***ing good team,” the LSG skipper Rishabh Pant said after the loss.

While talking about the opposition’s quality of execution, Pant felt they missed out on a slightly higher total after a strong start.

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“I think there are a few ways to look at it. In the middle overs and then in the last over, the way Archer bowled, I think it was really good. But we could have actually scored five or ten runs more on this kind of wicket when you get that kind of start, and we just couldn’t capitalise in the last over,” Pant again said.

“It’s definitely a difficult one for sure because you always want to back your bowlers, but sometimes it’s hard. On a wicket like this, there is less margin for the bowlers, and having too many suggestions doesn’t work out. Sometimes you have to keep a simple plan, keep focusing on one ball at a time, and just try to execute the plan,” he further added.

Rishabh Pant also opined on the value of experience in crunch situations, shared how difficult it is to replace seasoned players in high-pressure phases of the game.

“Experience is something you’re always going to miss, regardless of whether things go good or bad, because experience can’t be earned overnight. It takes years for people to gain that experience, and definitely in pressure situations, that is one thing which keeps you ahead for sure,” he said.

“Definitely because of the left-handers. They had been batting for a brief period of time and exposing a left-arm spinner; we didn’t want that, especially because Rathi was there in the side, so why take a chance on Shahbaz when Rathi is there in the side?” Rishabh Pant explained.