LSG's batting struggles blamed on Pooran's poor form in 2026 IPL

LSG have lost all three home matches in IPL 2026, with Pooran's poor form and shifting batting orders highlighted as key issues.

Home losses pile up Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have played three games at home in Lucknow this season and lost all of them. Their latest defeat was a 40-run loss against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, continuing their horror run at home in IPL 2026. Coach Justin Langer attributed the losses to players failing to adapt to what he called a brilliant cricket pitch. Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn, however, pointed to confusion in team strategy and Nicholas Pooran's poor form as the main reasons behind the setbacks. ## Batting order fluctuations On Wednesday, LSG opened with Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni, while Aiden Markram batted at No. 4 after Rishabh Pant and Pooran were placed at Nos. 5 and below. The top three lineup was identical in the previous game, but earlier, Markram opened with Marsh, and Badoni batted at No. 5. The positions of Pant, Pooran, and Badoni have been adjusted frequently throughout the tournament. ## Du Plessis questions lineup changes Faf du Plessis emphasized the need for consistency in batting order during an interview. He said, "What is your strength? What has worked for us? Stick with it." Du Plessis highlighted that Marsh and Markram had been a successful opening pair last year. He questioned the logic of moving Markram to the middle order, stating, "So what's worked for them is they've had a good opening pair last year [Marsh and Markram]. And now you're trying to fill all the holes and it's impossible." Du Plessis added, "It's like trying to please everyone. You can't please everyone. So stick to your strengths." ## Steyn blames Pooran for team's woes Dale Steyn identified Nicholas Pooran's poor form as the main catalyst for LSG's batting troubles. He explained that the team's uncertainty around Pooran's struggles forces them to shuffle other batters to cover for him. Steyn said, "Pooran. Pooran is the catalyst in this." He added, "The poor form of Pooran just means that you're moving good batters [around] to try and shepherd him." Steyn also suggested the team is hesitant to drop Pooran despite his struggles, citing a lack of confidence in alternatives like Matthew Breetzke. ## Pooran's poor run continues Nicholas Pooran has played all seven games so far this season, scoring a highest of 22 in Wednesday's match. He has accumulated 73 runs at a strike rate of 82.02. Markram and Badoni, as well as Marsh and Pant, have performed better than Pooran, though none have been outstanding. Last season, Marsh topped 600 runs, Pooran scored over 500, and Markram finished with nearly 450 runs. ## Langer admits batting woes Justin Langer acknowledged LSG's batting has not clicked despite their strong player lineup. He said, "Yeah, we haven't quite clicked, have we." Langer praised the bowlers' performances, highlighting Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, and Mohammed Shami. He also commended fielding efforts but noted the batting unit has failed to deliver. Langer stated, "But our batting's just not quite clicking. Who would have thought at the start of the season, if - how many games have we played now, seven games - our batting hadn't clicked with the calibre of players we've got, we could never have read that." ## LSG's lineup adjustments questioned Langer addressed the team's frequent batting order changes and the need to accommodate Pooran. He said, "We just felt that at the start of the season, we know they can do it. [But] because it worked last year, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work this year." Langer described Markram as a selfless player and explained the adjustments were made to bring cricketing intelligence to the middle order. He noted that the team's best batting performance came in the last game against Punjab Kings, while Wednesday's loss saw them chasing from the start, making it frustrating for everyone involved.