Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals, on Wednesday (April 17), thrashed Gujarat Titans by six wickets to register a much-needed win in the ongoing IPL 2024.
Everything went right for the Delhi-based outfit as they thoroughly outplayed Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Rishabh Pant’s decision to bowl first was justified by his bowlers. Led by Mukesh Kumar’s three-wicket haul, Delhi Capitals bowled out the hosts for a paltry total of 89 runs.
Ishant Sharma and Tristan Stubbs also picked up two wickets each. For Gujarat Titans, Rashid Khan (31), Sai Sudharsan (12), and Rahul Tewatia (10) were the only players to reach double-digit mark with the bat during the dismal show. Gujarat Titans were bowled out for less than 100 runs for the first time in the IPL.
In reply, Delhi Capitals chased down the total inside nine overs. While they lost four wickets, they never really looked in trouble during the chase. Rishabh Pant and Sumit Kumar shared an unbeaten 25-run stand to take their team home with more than 11 overs remaining.
Rishabh Pant on the win:
Rishabh Pant was also adjudged the Player of the Match for his fine display behind the stumps as well as scoring an unbeaten 16. He took two catches and affected two stumpings. Speaking at the end of the game, Rishabh Pant sounded delighted over his team’s performance.
“Lots of things to be pleased about. We talked about the champion thought process and our team showed today that we can play like that and really happy to see that,” said Rishabh Pant.
Speaking on the team’s bowling performance, he said: “Definitely one of the best, it’s early on in the tournament, can’t say much as we can improve individually.”
Speaking further, Rishabh Pant also spoke on his comeback, saying: “The only thought process before coming on to the field was coming in a better way, that’s what the only thought when I was going through my rehab.
He ended his post-match interview by talking about the team plan for the chase as well as expressing his admiration for Ahmedabad.
“The only conversation we had before the chase was – let’s get it as early as possible, we lost a few run-rate points earlier and we covered it up. We just love being in Ahmedabad, we love the stadium, the vibe here and looking forward to play more matches here. We just want to enjoy our win at a time and move forward learning from it,” said the wicketkeeper-batsman.