Xtra time Web Desk: Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant’s return to cricket after 14-month, following a horrific car accident has been less than ideal for the wicket keeper-battter. Despite promising starts in the first two games, Pant has struggled to convert them into substantial scores. On March 28, during the match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Pant appeared settled during the run chase but fell to Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery while attempting a square shot. Expressing his frustration, Pant visibly showed his emotions as he walked back to the dressing room, slamming his bat against the tunnel wall. This incident was captured in camera and went viral later on.
Here is the video that went viral:
Entering the crease in the fourth over of the chase, following the dismissals of opener Mitchell Marsh and Ricky Bhui by Nandre Burger, Pant, playing his 100th game for the Capitals, initially played a supporting role to opener David Warner. However, in the 10th over, he displayed flashes of aggression by hitting Chahal for a six over deep mid-wicket.
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After Warner’s wicket in the 12th over and the required run rate climbing up, Pant tried to play the cut shot but edged one to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson and lost his wicket. He scored 28 runs from 26 balls including two fours and a six. Despite Tristan Stubbs’ 23-ball 44, DC failed to chase down the target of 186 and lost the match by 12 runs. This was DC’s second consecutive defeat of the season.
Pant said in the post-match presentation, “Definitely disappointed. Best thing we can do from this is learn from it. The bowlers did really well till 15-16 overs, batters sometimes go on at the death and score quickly, that happened in this game. Marsh and Warner gave a good start, but we lost a few wickets in the middle overs and in the end we had too many runs to cover up. There are other options, we wanted Nortje to bowl at the death and sometimes you can go for runs, hopefully we can do better in the next match.”
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