New Delhi: Rishabh Pant let both his bat and the game slip away as Punjab Kings powered by standout performances from Prabhsimran and Arshdeep Singh delivered a decisive 37-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants leaving them teetering on the edge of playoff elimination in Sundays IPL showdown. Prabhsimrans explosive 91 off 48 balls set the platform for Punjabs commanding 236/5 while Arshdeep (3/16 from 4 overs) once again proved lethal in the Powerplay dismantling the top order and dashing any real hopes of a successful chase. This time he removed the trio of Mitchell Marsh (0) Aiden Markram (13) and the ever-dangerous Nicholas Pooran (6) putting the match firmly in Punjab’s control. Though Ayush Badoni’s gritty 74 from 40 deliveries provided some resistance it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. Lucknow were limited to 199/7 in their 20 overs. Even if they win all their remaining three matches and reach 16 points from 14 games their current net run rate could be a major hurdle in reaching the top four. With this win Punjab Kings now have 15 points from 11 matches and need just one more victory to potentially secure a playoff berth. However the spotlight remains on LSG’s ₹27-crore captain Rishabh Pant whose puzzling form continues to raise concerns. He has scored only 128 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate just below 100 (99.22) hardly fitting for a high-impact player. Pant managed only 18 runs off 17 balls in this match and the disconnect in his batting was clear when he wildly attempted to smash an Azmatullah Omarzai delivery losing control completely — the bat flew toward square leg while the ball went toward deep point. His continued struggle reflects the broader issues plaguing LSG which can be traced back to their auction strategy — especially their reliance on an underprepared bowling unit led by an injury-recovering Mayank Yadav. Mayank who had once impressed with his pace has lost noticeable speed after rehab under Nitin Patel at the National Cricket Academy. On the day he was smashed for 60 in four overs conceding six sixes in the process. Prabhsimran despite his small frame packed immense power in his strokes cracking six boundaries and seven sixes in a dazzling innings. He was denied a century by an overambitious switch-hit attempt against Digvesh Rathi falling nine runs short. Shashank Singh then added late fireworks with 33 off just 15 balls taking PBKS to a near-unreachable total. Punjab smashed 16 sixes in total 13 of them off pace bowlers. In the early stages it was Jos Inglis who took the lead launching a trio of sixes off Mayank Yadav whose post-injury decline in speed — nearly 15 kmph — was evident. Once Inglis departed Prabhsimran supported by skipper Shreyas Iyer (45 off 25) took full control. LSGs fielding only made matters worse especially Avesh Khan’s poor display which might go down as one of the least effective in IPL history. On top of conceding 57 runs in his four overs his lapses in the field gave away at least 15 additional runs. Prabhsimran punished Avesh brutally sending back-to-back sixes over mid-wicket. The opening duo added 78 runs in just under eight overs before Rathi — LSGs most effective bowler — became the first spinner this season to dismiss a PBKS captain. Even after the fall of Iyer Prabhsimran continued to dominate with LSG bowlers consistently offering deliveries right in his hitting zone.