Guided Rishabh Pant Delhi Capitals (DC) to a brilliant victory over Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 13th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 31.
Delhi Capitals won the toss and decided to bat first in the match. The decision turned out to be great for the team as the opening duo of Prithvi Shaw and David Warner played wonderful cricket.
Shaw featured in his first game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and impressed the DC management with his knock of 43 runs off 27 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes. The other two batsmen who led the innings were Rishabh Pant and David Warner, who hit half-centuries.
David Warner scored 52 runs off 35 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes, while Rishabh Pant scored 51 runs off 32 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. In the end, Delhi Capitals (DC) scored 191/5 on the board.
Chasing the target, CSK’s openers faltered but Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell batted well to stabilize the innings. After the dismissal of the aforementioned batsmen, the onus fell on Shivam Dube to do the job for his team but he did not look comfortable in the middle and was cleaned up for 18.
At last, MS Dhoni showed his true class and smoked the Delhi Capitals (DC) bowlers all over the park during his 51* run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. MS Dhoni scored 37 runs off 16 balls, with 4 fours and 3 sixes, but could not lead CSK to victory. Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 171/6 and DC won the match by 20 runs.
The bowlers have been clinical today – Rishabh Pant
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant praised his bowling unit for their clinical performance against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Talking about opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant said that the opening batsman has been putting in a lot of effort in the last few weeks and they thought it was the perfect time to unleash him against CSK. Rishabh Pant said:
“The bowlers have been clinical today. We learned from our mistake. He’s been working hard since the last two weeks (Shaw). We thought it was time to give it a chance and it flourished.”
Right-arm pacer Mukesh Kumar did a brilliant job for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the death overs and also bagged three wickets in the match. When asked about the pacer’s role, Rishabh Pant said that if Mukesh Kumar could continue his heroics after death, it would be fantastic for Delhi Capitals (DC). Rishabh Pant stated:
“It will depend from match to match, but if Mukesh can play at the death, it will be great.”
Rishabh Pant further spoke about his comeback and said that he gives his all when he comes on the field and always has a lot of confidence in himself. Rishabh Pant said:
“As a cricketer I have to give 100 per cent. It took me some time at first as I haven’t played much cricket in the last one and a half years. This is something I have depended my life on. I always had the confidence that no matter what happens, it is important to return to the land.”