In a light-hearted moment ahead of Match 40 in IPL 2025, Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant brought his trademark humour to the fore during the toss against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The stadium was buzzing with anticipation, but Pant ensured that the tension didn’t overshadow the fun as he shared a cheeky exchange with Delhi’s stand-in captain Axar Patel.
As the toss ceremony began, presenter Deep Dasgupta welcomed both captains along with the match referee. Handing over the coin to Pant, Dasgupta watched on as the LSG captain turned to Axar and jokingly signalled that he was about to toss the coin really high. True to his word, Pant leapt and launched the coin skyward with exaggerated flair. Axar called ‘tails’, and luck favoured him as the coin landed in his favour, rendering Pant’s athletic theatrics futile.
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The laughter didn’t end there. As Axar declared that Delhi would bowl first, Pant couldn’t resist chirping, “Batting, batting,” in a playful attempt to confuse the decision, prompting a round of chuckles from everyone around.
🚨 Toss 🚨@DelhiCapitals won the toss and opted to bowl first against @LucknowIPL.
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/nqIO9mb8Bs#TATAIPL | #LSGvDC pic.twitter.com/cJtkQgliTi
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2025
After winning the toss, Axar justified the call to field first, citing conditions: “We’ll bowl first. It’s a red-soil wicket, and there was dew in the last match as well. If we bowl well, we can restrict them.” He added that Delhi’s focus remains on executing their plans consistently rather than dwelling on past losses. “We’ve been in a few close games. Regarding the Impact Player, it depends on the match situation. Sadly, some of our players are injured and can’t take the field. One change today—Mohit Sharma is out, Dushmantha Chameera comes in.”
Pant, when asked for his thoughts, admitted he would’ve liked to bowl too, given the pitch’s nature: “Definitely would’ve bowled first. The surface holds up early on and gets better for batting as the innings goes on.”
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Providing an update on his fitness, Pant assured fans that his hand was fine and elaborated on their batting approach. “The hand’s okay. We just need to keep wickets in hand early. The pitch improves later, so batting smartly and adapting to conditions will be key. We’re not focusing on outside noise, just where we can get better. No changes in the playing XI.”
The toss might’ve gone DC’s way, but once again, Rishabh Pant ensured he stole the spotlight with both charm and cricketing clarity.
