'It was a good option to bat first': Rishabh Pant believes he didn't make a mistake by opting to bat first at Eden Gardens

Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant raised a few eyebrows when he opted to bat first at Eden Gardens. So far, no team in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has batted first at Eden Gardens. Also, since 2017, only two captains have opted not to chase at the venue. The last instance was Punjab Kings (PBKS) was Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the previous season. As DC suffered a batting collapse and struggled against KKR spinners on a pitch that had assistance for spinners, Pant doesn’t believe he made a mistake at the coin toss. 
 

“It was a good option to bat first. As a batting unit we didn't bat well, 150 was below par with how things were going,” Pant told the broadcasters after facing a seven-wicket defeat with 21 balls left in the innings. 
 

Pant felt that batters let them down and 180-210 would have been a good score at the venue.
 

“But we learn from our mistakes, every day is not your day. The way we were going as a team was nice (winning 4 out of their last 5 games), but these games come along in T20s. I think anything around 180-210 would have been a good score, we didn't give our bowlers enough runs to defend,” he added. 

ALSO READ: CSK coach Mike Hussey weighs in on strike rate debate, says 'we don't talk about it much at all'
 

The wicketkeeper-batter struggled with the bat. Even after getting an early reprieve, he was dismissed for a 20-ball 27. DC were reduced to 111/8 in the 15th over. Even the impact player Kumar Kushagra could not push the scoring rate and became 'Player of the match' Varun Chakaravarthy's third victim of the evening. Kuldeep Yadav's IPL career-best 26-ball 35 helped DC post 153/9 on the board. 

ALSO READ: IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya surprisingly finds fault in Tilak Varma's valiant knock after MI's loss against DC, says ‘If I had to pick something out...’
 

DC slip to sixth spot

This was DC's sixth loss from 11 games. Their net run rate (NRR) took a hit as well. They slipped to the sixth position of the points table. In order to have a realistic chance of making it to the playoffs, DC needed to win all of their remaining games. After a long break, DC will go up against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 7 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
 

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