India, April 6 -- Rishabh Pant had the perfect answer for critics on Sunday after Lucknow Super Giants defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets. The LSG captain has been facing the heat lately due to his dip in form in T20s, which also saw him miss out on India's T20 World Cup squad.

With LSG chasing 157 runs, Pant (68*) didn't open the innings and arrived to bat at No. 3 when Mitchell Marsh (14) lost his wicket to Ehsan Malinga in the fifth over. On his arrival, LSG were at 37/1, and he started on a cautious note, letting Aiden Markram get the runs.

But the LSG opener missed out on a half-century narrowly, departing for 45 off 27 balls in the 10th over. When Markram left, Pant was at 17* off 17 balls. Ayush Badoni (12) failed to st...