After scoring a blazing 118 runs off just 61 balls to help his team reach 226, Rishabh Pant’s efforts went in vain as his team lost the match. To add to his disappointment, he also received the bad news of a hefty fine.
In what was a frustrating final IPL match, Pant finally seemed to find his form again. He celebrated his century with his signature digbazi shot. But despite his brilliant performance, he couldn’t end the match on a happy note. Lucknow Super Giants lost despite putting up 226 runs. Later, Pant learned that he would be fined a significant amount.
Pant was fined ₹30 lakh for a slow over rate in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. This was the third time in the season that the Lucknow captain had been penalized for slow over rate, which explains why the fine was so steep.
While Pant received the highest fine as the impact player, the rest of the team members were fined 50% of the match fee or ₹12 lakh each, whichever was lower.
Earlier in this season, on April 5 and April 26, Pant and the team had also been fined for slow over rates.
One relief for Pant is that he won’t face suspension. Previously, a captain who was fined three times for slow over rates in a single season would face a one-match ban. Last season, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya missed the first match of this IPL because of this rule. However, the suspension rule was removed for this season.
On Tuesday against Bangalore, Pant scored a dazzling 118 runs off 61 balls, including 11 fours and 8 sixes. Despite his heroics, his team fell short. Jitesh Sharma ensured a top-two finish for Bangalore with a magnificent 85 runs off just 33 balls.
Though Pant ended the season with a century, this IPL campaign was largely forgettable for him. Bought by Lucknow Super Giants in the auction for a record ₹27 crore and handed the captaincy, the 27-year-old batsman couldn’t live up to expectations. Before this final match century, Pant had scored only one fifty in 12 innings, accumulating 151 runs at an average of 13.12 and a strike rate of 107.90. The century slightly improved his stats.
Lucknow finished seventh in the 10-team points table, with six wins and eight losses from 14 matches.
