Matches involving Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are never short of banter and the ongoing edition is no exception.
As Delhi Capitals recovered from a top-order collapse to secure a six-wicket win over LSG in Match 5 of IPL 2026 the Ekana Cricket Stadium Lucknow, social media went hammers and tongs over what appeared to be cryptic posts by both the franchises.
The social media banter began when LSG posted a photo of an empty staircase after KL Rahul was dismissed for a first ball duck. DC had posted a video of the veteran batter walking down the steps.
Incidentally, Rahul is the first captain of LSG, when they entered the IPL in 2022.
After the match ended, DC was quick to return the compliment with a post saying "We know " using the same staircase background, but added their logo along with head-to-head wins over LSG since 2024: by 6 wickets and 19 runs; 2025: by 1 wicket and 8 wickets; 2026: by 6 wickets.
Goenka vs Pant face off?
The matter did not end there. Reports of an animated conversation between LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and skipper Rishabh Pant later surfaced on social media. Though visuals did not have a proper audio and while what transpired between the duo was not clear, rumour mills spread the theory that all is not well in the LSG camp.
Some even drew parallels at what happened in IPL 2024 season between Goenka and the then LSG skipper K L Rahul.
It may be recalled that the 2024 incident was heavily discussed on social media and that was possibly sounded as one reason why Rahul left the franchise and joined DC later.
Incidentally, Rahul was playing for DC on Wednesday night when the online banter started.