Despite being eliminated from the playoffs race, Lucknow Super Giants put up a dominating show to clinch a 33-run victory over Gujarat Titans on Thursday in Ahmedabad. Asked to bat first, LSG posted a whopping total of 235/2 with Mitchell Marsh hammering 117 runs off 64 balls. Later, GT gave a tough fight but LSG bowlers quickly bounced back and restricted Shubman Gill and co at 202/9. With this win, LSG severely dented GT’s hopes of finishing in top two before the playoffs.

LSG head coach Justin Langer praised skipper Rishabh Pant for his leadership and fighter attitude.

“You always judge a person’s character by how they go through tough times. And Rishabh’s stayed consistent the whole way through. I really respect that. We all know what he’s been through over the last couple of years, but he keeps stepping up, he keeps performing, he wants to get out in the middle, and he wants to keep fighting hard for the boys,” Langer said during the live broadcast.

“So from that point of view, he’s done a really good job. You would not know, and that’s a sign of a really strong person,” he added.

Langer further stated that after getting knocked out from the playoffs race, LSG will now look to end their campaign on a high.

“I mean, there’s always something to play for. There are guys who haven’t had great seasons who want to showcase their talents, and as a team, we respect that we haven’t been at our best the last few games,” said Langer.

“There’s no excuse for that, but we want to show that we’ve got a very good core. We’ve got a closely-knit team. There’s no doubt about that. So it’d be nice to finish off strongly,” he added.

After the loss vs LSG, GT will be squaring off against Chennai Super Kings in their last league stage match on Sunday.