LSG mentor Zaheer Khan slams Lucknow curators after 8-wicket loss to Punjab Kings: 'You're disappointing the fans'

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Zaheer Khan did not mince words as he criticised the pitch conditions at the Ekana Stadium following his team’s disappointing 8-wicket loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in an IPL 2025 clash on Tuesday. Zaheer’s comments highlight the concerns surrounding LSG’s home advantage in this year’s IPL.

Lucknow curators slammed

Speaking after the defeat, Zaheer expressed his displeasure over the track prepared for the game, questioning whether the Lucknow curators had taken home advantage into consideration. The former India pacer further emphasised the need for Lucknow curators to ensure better playing conditions for their fans moving forward.

“What was a little disappointing for me here, considering it’s a home game, is that in IPL, you’ve seen how teams have looked at taking a little bit of home advantage. So yeah, from that point of view, you’ve seen the curator is not really thinking that it’s a home game. I think maybe it looked like it was a Punjab curator out here,” Zaheer stated.

“That’s something which we’ll figure out. It’s a new setup for me also here. But I hope that this is the first and the last game when it comes to that, because you are disappointing the Lucknow fans as well. They’ve come up with so much expectations of winning the first home game here,” he added.

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Punjab Kings cruise to victory

LSG suffered a comprehensive defeat as Punjab Kings chased down the 172-run target with ease, finishing at 177/2 in just 16.2 overs. The victory was set up by a breathtaking knock from Prabhsimran Singh, who smashed 69 off just 34 balls, hammering nine fours and three sixes to put Punjab firmly in control within the first 10 overs.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer (52 not-out off 30 balls) and Nehal Wadhera (43 not out off 25 balls) comfortably saw the team home, leaving LSG’s bowling attack exposed. The hosts’ bowling unit, already weakened by Mayank Yadav’s unavailability and an out-of-form Ravi Bishnoi, looked toothless against Punjab’s aggressive batting.

The contest was effectively decided in the powerplays, where LSG were thoroughly outplayed. Their top-order collapsed to 39/3, leaving the middle order with a mountain to climb. Nicholas Pooran (44 off 30) and Ayush Badoni (41 off 33) provided some resistance, but LSG failed to post a truly competitive total.

Pant’s form a major concern

Rishabh Pant ’s struggles continued as he was dismissed cheaply for just 2 runs, making it his third consecutive failure in IPL 2025. He got out after a mistimed pull off Glenn Maxwell, leaving his team in a difficult position. Pant, who is the highest-paid player in this year’s IPL, needs to find form quickly.