First time in 1108 days! Rishabh Pant walks out to open in T20s

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Apr 12, 2025, 20:25 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Rishabh Pant's unexpected return to opening the innings for Lucknow Super Giants against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 sparked excitement. This strategic move aims to leverage his explosive batting during the Powerplay, marking a significant shift after primarily playing in the middle order. Pant's previous T20 opening record boasts a strong strike rate and average, including a century.

First time in 1108 days! Rishabh Pant walks out to open in T20s

Rishabh Pant (BCCI/IPL Photo)

NEW DELHI: The roar inside the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow was deafening as Rishabh Pant walked out to open the innings for Lucknow Super Giants against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2025 clash on Saturday. Accompanied by Aiden Markram, Pant’s return to the top of the order was greeted with thunderous applause and chants, as fans welcomed the bold move with open arms. This marked a significant moment in Pant’s T20 journey.
Before this match, he had opened the batting in T20s just 21 times across formats, scoring 644 runs at an impressive strike rate of 162.21 and an average of 32.2, with five fifties and a century to his name.
Also See:SRH vs PBKS

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.

However, in the IPL, Pant had rarely featured as an opener—doing so only four times back in his debut season in 2016.
His returns as an opener in IPL 2016 were a mixed bag: 69 off 40, 2 off 8, 32 off 26, and 1 off 2.

Why Washington Sundar credits Gautam Gambhir for improving his game?

Since then, Pant had firmly established himself in the middle order, where he played most of his match-winning knocks. His return to the top now, after nearly nine years, reflects a strategic shift from the Lucknow franchise and an intent to maximise his explosive batting in the Powerplay overs.
The last time Pant opened in a T20 match was for India against New Zealand in Napier in 2022. He scored 11 runs as the match was ended in a tie (DLS Method).
Pant as an opener in T20s (before today)
Inns: 21
Runs: 644
Avg: 32.2
SR: 162.21
50/100: 5/1

Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don't miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.

About the Author

TOI Sports Desk

The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the essence of live sporting events and deliver compelling content to readers worldwide. From running live blogs for India and non-India cricket matches to global spectacles featuring Indian talents, like the Chess World Cup final featuring Praggnanandhaa and the Badminton World Championships semifinal featuring HS Prannoy, our live coverage extends to all mega sporting events. We extensively cover events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, and more. The desk is also adept at writing comprehensive match reports and insightful post-match commentary, complemented by stats-based articles that provide an in-depth analysis of player performances and team dynamics. We track news wires for key stories, conduct exclusive player interviews in both text and video formats, and file content from print editions and reporters. We keep track of all viral stories, trending topics and produce our own copies on the subjects. We deliver accurate, engaging, and up-to-the-minute sports content, round the clock.

End of Article