Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and former all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Rishabh Pant. Their reactions came after the Pant’s match-winning knock against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on March 31. In the 13th match of IPL 2024 at Visakhapatnam, DC secured their first victory of the season against the defending champions CSK by winning the match by 20 runs.
Winning the toss and batting first, DC posted 191 on the scoreboard with fifties from their opener David Warner and skipper Rishabh Pant. DC got a good start in the powerplay with Prithvi Shaw making his comeback and scoring 43 runs off 27 balls. Pant scored 51 runs off 32 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes.
Chasing the target of 192, CSK lost both of their openers in just 2.5 overs. Then, Ajinkya Rahane and Daryll Mitchell tried to build the innings but their dismissals put the CSK in a precarious situation. CSK kept losing the wickets and the required run rate was above 14. Although, in the last three overs MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja made some late runs, CSK managed to score only 171.
Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly lauded Pant's knock against the Super Kings and voiced his appreciation.
Well played Rishabh pant @RishabhPant17 .. u will remember this innings for a life time .. u have played many brilliant ones and will play even better ones but this story will remain with u always @ParthJindal11 @bcci," Ganguly wrote on X.
Irfan Pathan reacted after Pant’s knock which helped DC to get a competitive total of 191.
“Rishabh Pant is well and truly back. Brilliant inning this. #DCvsCSK," said Irfan on X.
The comeback of Pant holds significance because he is returning to competitive cricket almost 14 months after the horrific car accident in 2022. Ahead of the 17th season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declared him fit as the wicket-keeper batter.
David Warner praised Pant’s knock
After the first innings, during mid-innings break DC opener David Warner praised his skipper’s knock and said it was very promising to see how he paced his knock.
“Probably what we have got is ideal, but 200 would have been fantastic. We lost two wickets in the middle and the way Rishabh came out and played was phenomenal. He (Prithvi Shaw) has been working hard, and to see him hit cleanly was fantastic. Hard lengths into the wicket and off-pace stuck and held on the pitch. We go to hit the stumps as much as we can, get the fields right arm make sure we bowl to that”, Warner said.
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