Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill made a questionable call when he gave the final over of the innings to Mohit Sharma who had already been taken to cleaners by Rishabh Pant. The Delhi Capitals (DC) captain made full use of the opportunity and hit Mohit for 30 runs including four sixes and a four. In doing so, he helped DC post a daunting total of 224/4 and got an all-time T20 record to his name. Pant scored 62 runs from 18 balls against Mohit, the most by a batter off a bowler in a T20 match.
He broke the record held by Pakistan's Usman Khan who scored 54 runs from 18 balls in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023. The record was created in Multan Sultans' clash against Quetta Gladiators.
IPL batters with 50 or more runs against a bowler in an innings
The previous record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) belonged to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Virat Kohli. He scored 52 runs from 17 balls against DC's Umesh Yadav in IPL 2013. Apart from Kohli, only one other batter in IPL has scored more than 50 runs against a bowler. Former Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Hashim Amla scored 51 runs from 16 balls against Mumbai Indians' (MI) Lasith Malinga in IPL 2017.
Pant scored 88 runs from 43 balls including five fours and eight sixes. He is now third in the race of Orange Cap with 342 runs from nine matches at an average of 48.86 including three half-centuries. His strike rate is an impressive 161.32.
After the thrilling four-run win over GT, Pant revealed what went through his mind when DC lost early wickets.
“At 43/3, we wanted to just keep going and target their main spinners. If we get something, we will take it on and keep rotating the strike,” the wicketkeeper-batter said.
Pant loving every moment in the middle
Pant said he is grateful to be playing after the horrible accident he survived. Also, the first six of the match helps him get into the groove.
“Everyday 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 the confidence in a game. The more time I spend in the centre, the better I feel,” he added.
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