Has Matheesha Pathirana dominated Rishabh Pant in T20s? Key stats

Has Matheesha Pathirana dominated Rishabh Pant in T20s? Key stats
15 Apr 2025

Albeit in a losing cause, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant displayed his batting brilliance against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 IPL match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday.

He brought up his first-ever half-century for LSG and 19th overall in IPL history, by smashing a one-handed six off Matheesha Pathirana's bowling.

However, Pathirana later redeemed himself by trapping Pant.

Here we decode their rivalry in T20 cricket.

Pathirana dismisses Pant yet again
Battle

Pathirana, who bowled an expensive spell, trapped Pant with the second ball of the 20th over.

It was a full delivery wide of the off-stump which was top-edged by Pant. Wicket-keeper MS Dhoni took a fine catch to complete the dismissal.

As per ESPNcricinfo, Pathirana has now dismissed Pant thrice across four T20 meetings.

The batter has, however, garnered 55 runs in this battle at a strike rate of 189.65.

Two dismissals in as many T20 meetings
Fact

The two players have only crossed swords twice in T20s and Pathirana has trapped Pant on both occasions. It must be noted that both these dismissals have come in the final five overs.

Pant's return to form after string of low scores
Comeback

Pant's brilliant show came after a string of poor scores in his last five games. He had scored only 0, 15, 2, 2, and 21 runs in those matches.

The LSG had bought him for a whopping ₹27 crore at the auction, making him IPL's most expensive player.

Pant scored 63 runs off only 49 balls as the Super Giants finished at 166/7.

Meanwhile, Pathirana finished his spell with 2/45 from four overs.

CSK end losing streak with a win over LSG
Fact

Despite Pant's stellar performance, CSK clinched a five-wicket win over LSG. This was CSK's first win in their last six matches, ending their losing streak. Shivam Dube (43* off 37 balls) and MS Dhoni (26* off 11 balls) were instrumental in this CSK triumph.

Here are their IPL numbers
Career

Pant's latest knock has taken his season tally to 103 runs from seven games at 17.16.

Overall, the Indian batter has racked up 3,386 runs from 118 IPL games at an average of 34.55. His strike rate reads a phenomenal 147.08.

Pathirana has managed seven scalps from five outings in IPL 2025 (ER: 9.60).

He has overall raced to 41 wickets from 25 matches (ER: 8.23).