Delhi Capitals on Sunday registered their first win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as they defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 20 runs in Visakhapatnam. Rishabh Pant & Co. produced an all-round show at their second home, the ACA-VDA Stadium, to outsmart the defending champions and collect their first points. Rishabh Pant post his injury lay off starred with the bat scoring 51 of 32 and was one of the main architect of Delhi Capitals batting order.
Rishabh Pant’s 32-ball 51 powered DC to a competitive 191 for 5 after openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw overcame a slow start to share a 93-run opening stand . Later, left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (2/21) set the tone for DC’s defence with his twin strikes in the Powerplay which wad followed by pacer Mukesh Kumar’s superb spell that saw him finish with bowling figures of 3/21.
I still have to keep learning as a cricketer- Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant scored a fine half-century as Delhi Capitals won their first game in IPL 2024 after beating Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs on Sunday.
The fans who had flocked to the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 31 to witness the Delhi Capitals versus Chennai Super Kings clash went home with a lot of happy memories as Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni played memorable knocks.
Rishabh Pant came out to bat at No. 3 after David Warner and Prithvi Shaw had added 93 runs inside the first 10 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter struggled initially to find his timing and got to 23 off as many balls. However, he managed to accelerate commendably and hit 28 off his last nine balls. The southpaw was eventually dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana for a 32-ball 51 in the penultimate over of the Delhi innings. His knock was glistened with four fours and three sixes.
This was Rishabh Pant’s first half-century after he made a comeback to competitive cricket after 14 months following a horrific car accident in December 2022. In the 18th over bowled by Mustafizur Rahman, the 26-year-old unleashed a one-handed six, a shot he made famous before his accident. After the match, Rishabh Pant said that he had waited for a very long time to hit his trademark shot. He also asserted that he always had the belief to make a strong comeback and dominate the bowlers.
“One and a half years…this is something I have built my life on. I still have to keep learning as a cricketer. I had self-belief that whatever happens, I have to come back to the ground and I didn’t think about anything else,” Pant said when he was asked if he was also waiting, like the rest of the cricket fraternity, to see him hit a one-handed six, as quoted by India Today.
The DC skipper seemed to struggle a bit initially but he accelerated in towards the end of the innings as 43 runs came in the last three overs.
“As a cricketer, I’ve to give my 100 percent. Took some time initially as I haven’t played much cricket in the last one-and-a-half years,” he added.
Elated over his team’s first win, Pant gave credit to his bowlers for turning the momentum in DC’s favour.
“Bowlers have been clinical today. We’ve learnt from our mistake,” Pant said at the post-match presentation.
Delhi made a couple of changes to their squad as they took on the defending champions. They brought in Prithvi Shaw in the playing XI and he smashed a 27-ball 43, giving a terrific start to the team. Pant said the opening batter was rewarded for his hard work.
“He’s been working hard for the last two weeks. We thought it’s time to give him a chance and he flourished,” Pant concluded.
On the back of Rishabh Pant’s blitzkrieg, Delhi set a challenging target of 192 for Chennai. The five-time champions, who had won both their games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 heading into this fixture, had to fight hard for their runs as the Delhi bowlers were excellent with their planning and execution. MS Dhoni came out to bat at No. 8 and played a whirlwind knock of 37 not out off 16 balls but he just had too much left to do. In the end, the Men in Yellow fell short by 20 runs as the Capitals won their first match of the season.