New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants would look to try out various combinations until they have a fully fit squad at their disposal, assistant coach Lance Klusener said after they lost their IPL 2025 opening match by one wicket to Delhi Capitals.
LSG were asked to bat first and set a 210-run target in Visakhapatnam but were unable to defend their score as despite reducing Delhi to 113/6 as they reached the target with fivce balls to spare, winning by one run.
Reflecting on their loss, Klusener said they are forced to “mix and match” the team till all their players become fit. Four of their pacers – Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Akash Deep – are on the mending list.
“At the moment, we don’t have a lot of reserves with the ball, so we’re going to have to just probably mix and match until we start getting players back,” Klusener said.
“But that’s just the nature of it. We’re going to have to stand up and stand tall with the bat in Hyderabad [venue of their next game] as we saw in the first game.”
’20-30 runs short’
LSG brought in experienced all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who was included in their playing XI against Delhi.
“We’re looking forward to that, but as I said, it’s an opportunity for some youngsters as well, getting their first opportunity. I was really happy for Shardul Thakur (injury replacement) – two wickets in the first over,” he added.
LSG skipper Rishabh Pant said they had enough runs on the board though Klusener felt they fell short by 20 to 30 runs after getting a rollicking start.
“If I have to put a finger on it, I would like to say we’ve probably left 20 or 30 runs with the bat out there. That was probably why we ended up being under pressure with the ball,” he said.
“I thought they [DC] finished well with the bat, but the reason why we’re in that position is because we didn’t score enough runs, which we should have.
“When the bowlers got it right, there was a little bit of spin, so I thought it was a very good wicket. There was a little bit in there for everybody.”
Four LSG pacers – Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Akash Deep – are currently injured and were not part of their opening match loss to DC in IPL 2025 Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
