'It felt like 'Punjab curator' made the Lucknow pitch' - Zaheer Khan criticises pitch curator after Punjab defeat

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a disappointing eight-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in IPL 2025 on Tuesday. Following the loss, LSG mentor Zaheer Khan criticised the pitch conditions, even mentioning that they felt like they were prepared by a Punjab curator. 

This season, multiple IPL teams, including Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, have expressed concerns over their home pitches. LSG became the latest team to point out this issue after their defeat to PBKS at home

The former Indian pacer questioned the pitch curator’s decisions, specifying that home teams should have some advantage in IPL matches. In his criticism, he pointed out that rather than favouring the home team, it looked helpful for the away team.

"Disappointed, not really thinking that it's a home game. What was a little disappointing for me here, considering it's a home game. In IPL, you've seen how teams have looked at taking a little bit of home advantage, you know, so yeah, from that point of view, you've seen the curator is not really thinking that it's a home game, you know. I think maybe it looked like, you know, it was Punjab curator out here," he said at the post-match press conference.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Best Catch of the Match - Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings, Match 13

We still have six more games to go here: Zaheer Khan

LSG struggled right from the start after being put in to bat on a red-soil pitch. The team lost three early wickets in the powerplay. Nicholas Pooran (44 off 30) tried to stabilize the innings, but the side could only manage 171/7 in their 20 overs. For Punjab, Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, picking three wickets, including the scalps of Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni in the final over of the first innings.

However, in reply, Prabhsimran Singh played a key role in the chase with his 69 off 34 balls, along with skipper Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 52 off 30 balls. Punjab dominated both powerplays, first restricting the Rishabh Pant-led side and then racing ahead in the chase. Eventually, they chased down the target comfortably with 22 balls to spare. Zaheer stressed the importance of home advantage and how the pitch conditions did not favor LSG at all.

"That's something which we'll figure out. It's a new setup for me also here. But I hope that this is the first and the last game when it comes to that, because you are disappointing the Lucknow fans as well. They've come up with so much expectations of winning the first home game here. As a team, we are confident, you know, we accept that we've lost the game, and we're going to do whatever it takes to make that impact in the home leg. We still have six more games to go here," he added.