'Didn't really talk to Pant…': Bishnoi reveals wanting to go head-to-head vs MS Dhoni but backs his skipper's final plan
However, Rishabh Pant's plan backfired on Monday night. Shardul Thakur turned out to be quite expensive in his last two overs and leaked 32 runs.
Lucknow Super Giants failed to hold their nerves in the final overs against Chennai Super Kings and suffered their third loss of the season. Skipper Rishabh Pant relied on his pacers to get the job done in the last five overs in front of legendary MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube at Ekana Stadium. With 56 runs required off the last five overs, Pant chose Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur for the tough task. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi didn't get the chance to bowl his fourth over despite having an economical night with two wickets for 18 runs in his three overs. There was some assistance for the spinners, and CSK's recent chase record against spin was also not up to the mark, but Pant still shied away from using his Bishnoi in front of the opposition's two finishers.
After the match, Bishnoi revealed that he went to the wicket a couple of times in search of his fourth over but he didn't really ask Pant about it as he backed his skipper's decision.
"I didn't really talk [to Pant] about it, but I went to the wicket a couple of times and I think he had plans in place he wanted to execute," Bishnoi said at the press conference after the game. "In such situations the captain is better placed and he keeps wicket too, so he understands things better. According to me, he took the decision he thought was better," he added.
However, Pant's plan backfired. Shardul Thakur turned out to be quite expensive in his last two overs and leaked 32 runs, including a 19-run penultimate over in which he failed to get his line and length right.
Ravi Bishnoi backs Rishabh Pant despite failed plan
Earlier this season, the skippers placed bets on their spinners in such situations against Dhoni, be it Sanju Samson using Maheesh Theekshana in the 18th over when CSK needed 45 from 18 or Axar Patel bowling himself the 17th over. Punjab Kings' skipper Shreyas Iyer also backed Yuzvendra Chahal against CSK to bowl the 17th over with 68 to win, and on all three occasions, the spinners got the job done for their skippers as Dhoni failed to find a boundary there.
The legendary CSK wicketkeeper batter also had an underwhelming 94.23 strike rate against spin in the IPL since 2020, with 14 fours and nine sixes in 243 balls.
But Bishnoi didn't doubt Pant's plans and said that in situations like these, the captain is the one who makes the decisions with a clear approach.
"He was clear in his mind and it's better in such tense situations that the captain thinks with a clear mind," he added.
