VIDEO: Angry Indian anchor smashes TV on-air over Pant's batting

A bizarre incident unfolded during a YouTube live session when a sports anchor smashed a television screen in pure anger, frustrated with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant’s performance against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2025 match.

Pant, who had already disappointed fans with a six-ball duck in the previous match against the Delhi Capitals (DC), once again failed to impress. With LSG comfortably placed to chase down SRH’s target, Pant managed 15 (15) before getting caught at short third, leaving fans and analysts unimpressed.

On Sports Tak’s live discussion, sports presenter Pankaj completely lost his cool over Pant’s failure. In a dramatic fit of rage, he threw an object at the TV screen, shattering it, and almost tossed a glass table in frustration. Veteran sports journalist Vikrant Gupta, who was also part of the discussion, could only offer a wry smile as Pankaj vented his anger.

“IPL is going on. He (Rishabh Pant) had his chance, but I’m telling you, he has become predictable. You cannot trust him. What sort of a captain is he? We don’t need a captain like him,” Pankaj fumed during the livestream.

Despite Pant’s struggles, LSG secured a five-wicket win. Speaking after the match, Pant expressed relief over the result.

“It is about not getting too high when you win and not getting too low when you lose. As a team, we can’t focus on uncontrollables. My mentor (Zaheer Khan) said to focus on controllable, and that is what I did. It was good to see the way Prince Yadav bowled, and Thakur was really good as well. (On Pooran batting at No. 3) I think we just want to give freedom to him. You have to give someone the charge when he is batting well, and he has batted brilliantly for us. The group is coming up nicely; we have not played our best so far but are happy to get a win,” Pant said.

LSG opted to bowl first, restricting SRH to 190/9 in their 20 overs. Shardul Thakur was the standout bowler for LSG, taking 4/34, while Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, and Ravi Bishnoi each picked up a wicket.

For SRH, Travis Head, 47 (28), and Nitish Kumar Reddy, 32 (28), put up a 61-run partnership to stabilise the innings. Heinrich Klaasen 26 (17), Aniket Varma 36 (13), and captain Pat Cummins 18 (4) added crucial runs to push SRH to a competitive total.

During the run chase, LSG lost Aiden Markram early, but a 116-run partnership between Nicholas Pooran 70 (26) and Mitchell Marsh 52 (31) set the stage for an easy win. Abdul Samad 22* (8) provided the finishing touch, securing LSG’s victory with 23 balls to spare.

For SRH, Pat Cummins was the top bowler, picking up 2/29, but it wasn’t enough to stop LSG’s dominant performance.

While LSG fans celebrated the win, Pant’s performance remained a hot topic. The viral clip of the anchor’s outburst only added fuel to the debate, with fans divided over Pant’s captaincy and batting struggles.

It merits mention that Rishabh Pant is one of the most expensive players in IPL history, with a price of around 85 crore PKR.