Punjab Kings secured their second consecutive victory in IPL 2025, defeating Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets at Ekana Stadium on Tuesday, marking their fourth instance of winning both opening games in an IPL season. The win propelled them to second place in the points table, following their earlier triumph against Gujarat Titans.

After the match, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka engaged in a lengthy conversation with PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored a match-winning fifty, and Rishabh Pant, who had another mare.

The match featured a contest between two of IPL’s highest-paid players. LSG’s Rishabh Pant, acquired for Rs 27 crore, outbidding Iyer by 25 lakhs, ended up on the losing side. Pant’s performance remained disappointing, scoring just two runs off five balls, bringing his total to 17 runs from 26 balls across three innings.
Following his discussion with Iyer, Goenka had an animated conversation with Pant, similar to their interaction after Lucknow’s previous loss to Delhi Capitals. The animated conversation had Goenka pointing his finger at Pant several times.

LSG have now lost two of their first three matches this season. They will face Mumbai Indians in their next home game on Friday.

“It (the total) wasn’t enough, we were 20-25 runs short, but that’s part and parcel of the game. Still assessing the conditions at our home ground. It’s always going to be difficult to get a big total when you lose early wickets, but each and every player is trying hard to take the game forward. The idea was to get a slow wicket. I think the slower balls were sticking in. We got to learn from this game and move forward. There are a lot of positives, can’t say much,” Pant said during the post-match presentation.