Rishabh Pant had a turbulent Indian Premier League season with the bat, to put it bluntly. The 27-year-old replaced the departing KL Rahul as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and was in the constant eye of the cricket-loving public for his repeated batting woes. The wicketkeeper-batter, acquired for a record Rs 27 crore by owner Sanjiv Goenka’s LSG in the mega auction, could only manage 151 runs in 13 matches in IPL 2025. This was to change when the dangerous, good ol’ Pant resurrected during the matchup between LSG and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday night in Lucknow. Asked to bat first, the home team notched up a staggering 227 for 3 in their designated 20 overs. 118* of them were scored by the skipper Pant alone who brought up a sensational century in just 54 deliveries. Although Pant’s century ended up being in a losing cause thanks to RCB captain Jitesh Sharma (85*) and Mayank Agarwal (41*) stitching a sensational and unbeaten partnership of 107 to take the Men in Red to the Qualifier 1, the LSG skipper’s knock that was comprised of eight maximums and 11 boundaries brought out plenty of reactions and memes on social media. Pant performed a front flip to mark his stylish ton against RCB. His animated celebrations were deemed cold by some. COLDEST IPL CENTURY CELEBRATION. – This is Rishabh Pant special. ?❤️pic.twitter.com/0RWA1B2BYi — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 27, 2025 While others had memes. Pic 1- Sanju Samson after scoring a 100 vs South Africa on a tough pitchPic 2-Rishabh Pant after scoring a century on a flat road in an irrelevant pitch against washed bhuvi and Romario with 2 catch drops pic.twitter.com/BHIJTc02dY — Abhi ⛷️ (@100off40) May 27, 2025 Withdrawn Appeal LSG’s eccentric legspinner Digvesh Rathi lit up the bails (and the Internet) when he stopped in his tracks to attempt running out LSG skipper Jitesh Sharma at the non-striker’s end with a “Mankad”. The incident occurred on the fifth delivery of the 17th over when Rathi saw Sharma leaving the safe zone a bit too early. The bowler pulled out of his delivery stride and disturbed the bails. The on-field umpire went upstairs and Sharma was adjudged not out after closely monitoring all the angles. However, amid all of this, Pant had already withdrawn the appeal. RCB batter Sharma embraced Pant for his spirited display. Words Of Praise “Risabh Pant stood tall today despite his team’s loss. First a stunning hundred and later withdraws run out appeal against Jitesh Sharma. Pant shows there’s more to sports than just winning and losing, (sic)” former India cricketer and commentator Mohammad Kaif wrote on his ‘X’ account. Also Read: Helmet Celebration To Mankad Scare: Why RCB’s Jitesh Sharma Is Trending On ‘X’ Rishabh Pant will play cricket, athletics, javelin throw and long jump in next Olympics pic.twitter.com/9uFreDmpPf — Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 27, 2025 Some questioned why Pant withdrew Jitesh Sharma’s run-out appeal regardless of the TV umpire’s decision of not-out. Why was it hailed as a “heartwarming gesture”? Mankad, a completely legal way to get a batter out at the non-striker’s end, has been a subject of taboo and it was only reinforced when Pant chose to back the “spirit of the game” when his bowler needed the captain’s backing. “If a bowler is getting penalised for landing his back foot over the line, the batter should also be punished for coming out of his crease when he’s not supposed to. Disappointing from Pant that he didn’t have his bowler’s back,” a user on X wrote. Sanjiv Goenka The LSG owner, Sanjiv Goenka, has had to face the wrath of angered IPL fans ever since the franchise owner’s on-field spat and subsequent fallout with KL Rahul took place in the previous season of IPL. The critics and viewers sided with Rahul as they felt the owner’s animated meltdown in front of the cameras wasn’t the healthiest of ways to deal with a disappointing loss. With Pant now filling the shoes of Rahul, the cameras and eyes panned to the owner every time Pant faltered or the team lost a game. What would be Goenka’s reaction? Will Pant be subjected to similar outburst? The questions arose each time Goenka was on the giant screen. As a result, Goenka was singled out by fans and has been in the radar of memers throughout the IPL 2025 season. Also Read: Why IPL Fans Have Already Singled Out Sanjiv Goenka Of Lucknow Super Giants Goenka after watching Rishabh Pant’s century in LSG’s last match pic.twitter.com/4GVEqJedcI — Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) May 27, 2025 Now you cannot even release Rishabh Pant and get back your 27cr investment ? pic.twitter.com/zr2MgCI1Mb — Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) May 27, 2025 Pant’s LSG settled for the seventh spot on the points table with 6 wins and 8 defeats.