RISHABH PANTS has lamented Ishant Sharma’s unfortunate injury following Delhi Capitals’ loss to Punjab Kings in the second match of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024).
The veteran pacer cleanly bowled Shikhar Dhawan in his second over and also dismissed Jonny Bairstow with a remarkable effort in his follow-up before suffering the injury that prematurely ended his participation in the game. In the sixth inning of PBKS, he sprained his ankle while playing and had to limp off the field.
With Ishant not returning to the field for the rest of the game, DC fell short and paid a heavy price for it. In Ishant’s absence, Rishabh Pant had to rely on Sumit Kumar who failed to defend six runs in the final over. After Mitchell Marsh conceded 52 runs in his four overs, things became tougher for DC.
“I think Ishant’s injury was clearly evident on the field, we were already missing a player due to our batting.” said Rishabh Pant after the loss.
“Abhishek Porel did well to give us those extra runs, but we were always short of a bowler. “The boys did well to drag us back into the game at various stages.” he added.
DC were reeling at 138 for 7 in the 18th over before Abhishek Porel’s knock helped them score 174 for 9. He smashed three fours and two sixes in the final over and remained unbeaten on 32 off 10 balls. His efforts, however, went in vain as PBKS chased down the total with four balls remaining.
Rishabh Pant on his comeback:
Rishabh Pant also spoke about his comeback. The wicketkeeper-batsman played his first competitive match since December 2022 and scored 18 runs off 13 balls. The India star admitted there was a bit of tension but he had fun. He also credited PBKS for the win.
“I was quite nervous. There was a little tension, but I started to enjoy it. No excuses, having a player short was never good, but you have to give PKBS credit for the way they played. “He is quite new (at Porel), third or fourth game (for him), the way he batted was very special, I expect more from him as the season progresses.” said Rishabh Pant.