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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered another batting collapse at home and lost their fifth defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Chasing a target of 160 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), LSG were bowled out for 119. Only Mitchell Marsh showed fight with a 41-ball 55. After the defeat that led to LSG slipping to ninth spot, head coach Justin Langer slammed the batters for not being able to adapt to it.
"I think the pitch here is very different than in most of India. It's a brilliant cricket pitch. You see pace and bounce and we just haven't quite adjusted to it," Langer said at the post-match press conference.
"I thought we started off with bowling quite well in it. We bowled well in the first game but we're just not adjusting to the extra pace and bounce. We saw that we've been out to the short ball a number of times, our batters, and that's what I would say".
In the run chase, new opener Ayush Badoni, skipper Rishabh Pant and Aide Markram registered ducks. Nicholas Pooran departed after getting a start whereas impact player Himmat Singh and finisher Mukul Choudhary didn't make an impact either. Langer went on to liken the pitch at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow to that of Perth’s WACA ground.
"So we're not adjusting," Langer said. "We see a lot of the wickets in India where the ball doesn't bounce very high. This is like playing at the WACA (Perth). There's real pace and bounce, isn't there?
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"I mean you're seeing some really interesting cricket being played here and we just haven't been able to adapt to it at this stage. We haven't quite clicked, have we?"
Langer lauds groudsmen for ‘great cricket wicket’
Later, Langer was asked whether LSG have had a say in the pitch preparation. Langer lauded the groundsmen for providing a pitch which has providing exciting cricket so far.
"No, no, no. Their groundsmen here: I've said for the last couple of years this is one of the best pitches in India. You see it. You know it's a big outfield. It's a big ground. It's a brilliant bat... it's a great cricket wicket actually and we just need to adapt to it better. You know we get to play a bit here but this is, we've got a very good groundsman. We've got a great cricket pitch. Every game's exciting cricket. We've just been on the wrong side of it so far," the former Australia head coach replied.
So far, three games have been played in Lucknow this season. In the first two games, the chasing team has won. In the first game, Delhi Capitals (DC) chased down 142. Then, Gujarat Titans (GT) chased down 165. LSG's next clash at home is against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 26. KKR recently ended their losing streak with a win over RR.
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