Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant’s comeback to cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 hasn’t been the way he would’ve wanted. The keeper-batter has so far failed to make a mark as captain as well as the batter in the league for his team.
After scoring 18 runs in his comeback match against Punjab Kings, it was expected that he would set the stage on fire in the second game against Rajasthan Royals. But that wasn’t the case as he yet again failed to score big and couldn’t take his team home.
In the chase of 186 runs, Rishabh Pant came to bat when Delhi Capitals were left tottering at 30/2. The skipper tried to ease into the innings and took his time. But he couldn’t bat freely in the way fans are used to seeing him bat, smashing balls all over the park and attacking the opposition right from the start.
Rishabh Pant although played some crisp shots in his innings but he failed to carry on and perished in the 14th over. The keeper-batter was removed by Yuzvendra Chahal, who bowled a wide side to which the batter attempted a late cut and was caught by the keeper Sanju Samson.
After he got out, Rishabh Pant looked frustrated. This was quite evident when he was walking back to the dressing room. In a video that has gone viral on the internet, Rishabh Pant can be seen smashing his bat against the wall in anger.
Here’s the clip:
— IndiaCricket (@IndiaCrick18158) March 28, 2024
Rishabh Pant got the start to his innings that he wanted but couldn’t carry on. The Delhi Capitals scored 28 runs off 26 balls and batted with a strike rate of 107.69. He also slammed 2 fours and 1 six in his innings but didn’t look at his fluent best. His wicket saw Delhi tottering at 105/4.
After he got out, Tristan Stubbs (44*) and Axar Patel (15*) revived the hopes of the fans and played well. They took Delhi Capitals close to the target but couldn’t take the team home. Avesh Khan bowled a sensational last over and defended the target to hand Rishabh Pant-led side their second consecutive defeat.
The best thing we can do from this is learn from it – Rishabh Pant after the loss against Rajasthan Royals
Rishabh Pant opened up about the loss against Rajasthan Royals and expressed his disappointment. He said that they will learn from their mistakes and pointed out where they lacked in the game against the Sanju Samson-led side. Speaking to broadcasters, he explained:
“Definitely disappointed. The 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.”
Rishabh Pant will be next seen in action when the Delhi Capitals will next take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 31st March.
