New Delhi, April 25 (IANS): Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant feels happy being on the field after smashing an unbeaten 88 off 43 in DC's 4-run win over Gujarat Titans on Wednesday night.
DC were reeling on 44 for 3 when Pant joined hands with Axar Patel. Axar made his promotion to number three count by hitting five fours and four sixes in his eye-catchy knock at a strike-rate of 153.49. Pant, after being scratchy in his 44 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, was at his magnificent best in hitting eight sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 204.6.
Both batters added 113 runs in 68 deliveries which propelled Delhi to 224 for 4 in 20 overs. Rishabh Pant stated that he is gradually but surely returning to his dominant best and that every IPL 2024 encounter counts in his comeback.
"Every day that I'm in the middle, I feel better. Every hour on the field matters, I love being on the field. I try to give it my 100% and it takes some time sometimes. I think the first six in the match gives me confidence in a game. The more time I spend in the centre, the better I feel," Pant said after the match.
Pant got his fifty in 34 balls by lofting a full-toss from Mohit over long-on for six, and was met with a grand applause from the crowd. Pant was delightful in the 16th over against Mohit - whipping off his pads and thumping a slower ball over long-off for a brace of sixes, before bringing up the century of the fourth-wicket stand.
In the last over, Pant managed to clear long-on for six and sliced a four despite losing balance against Mohit. He cut loose with his pull, loft and swivel fetching him maximums on last three balls of the innings to take 31 runs off the final over.
Behind the stumps, Pant had a good day too, making the necessary decisions to guide the squad in their 224-run defence. Shubman Gill was out early, but Sai Sudharsan and David Miller struck fiery fifties, and Wriddhiman Saha, Rashid Khan, and Sai Kishore made significant contributions to keep the chase going till the very last ball.
Rasikh Salam claimed two vital wickets in his opening three overs, Pant put youthful Rasikh Salam in charge of bowling the 19th. Kishore hit Rasikh for two sixes, but the young medium pacer remained composed and removed Sai, leaving Mukesh Kumar with 19 runs to defend. When asked about giving the experienced Anrich Nortje last over, Pant said, “Nortje was having a tough time. T20 is a funny game, after 14-15 overs the ball was coming on nicely.”
“So we wanted to trust Rasikh, always trust someone who is bowling well in a game. I think it is about instincts as a captain, it will come off sometimes. Happy it worked today.”