Rishabh Pant's rise to prominence began at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. His batting exploits at the 2016 U-19 World Cup, paved the way for him to join the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the IPL. The 2017 season became his breakout year, showcasing his exceptional batting skills and earning him a call-up to the Indian national team. Pant went on to make India debut in all three formats, while continuing to shine in the IPL.
Unfortunately, a serious accident in 2022 kept him out of cricket for 15 months, forcing him to miss the 2023 IPL season. But, Pant through his sheer resilience and hard work made quick recovery and made himself available for the much-anticipated comeback in IPL 2024. He'll be leading the charge as the captain of the Delhi Capitals, adding a new chapter to his impressive IPL story.
Meanwhile, let's have a look at Pant's top five knocks of IPL which is still etched in everyone's memory.
79 runs off 45 balls vs Chennai Super Kings (2018)
In one of the matches in IPL 2018, batting first Chennai Super Kings batted posted a total of 211/4 in 20 overs. MS Dhoni and Shane Watson scored half-centuries for CSK. Chasing the target, Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar cracked brilliant fifties for the Delhi team. Pant ended up hammering 79 runs off 45 balls riding on 7 fours and 4 sixes. However, despite Pant's blitzkrieg Delhi lost the match by 13 runs.
85 runs off 48 balls vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (2018)
In IPL 2018's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Daredevils batted first and posted a total of 174/5 wickets in 20 overs, thanks to Pant's fiery 85 runs off 48 balls. In his innings, Pant smashed 7 sixes and 6 fours. Shreyas Iyer too scored a half-century for the Delhi side. However, RCB won the match in the end as Pant's efforts went in vain.
68 runs off 27 balls vs Mumbai Indians (2019)
Rishabh Pant's knock against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2019 is still vivid in everyone's memory. Batting first, Delhi scored a total of 213 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Pant scored an unbeaten 78 runs off 27 balls, cracking 7 fours and as many sixes. However, Mumbai could only score 176 runs in the process and Delhi won the match easily.
97 runs off 43 balls vs Gujarat Lions (2017)
In a thrilling IPL encounter in 2017, Gujarat Lions set a formidable target of 208 runs on the board, riding on fifties from Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik. Chasing this challenging total, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start with Sanju Samson's quickfire knock of 61 runs off just 31 balls, including a staggering 7 sixes. However, the hero of the match was undoubtedly Rishabh Pant. His explosive knock of 97 runs off just 43 balls, laced with 6 fours and 9 sixes, steered Delhi Capitals to a remarkable victory.
128 off 63 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2018)
Despite a magnificent unbeaten knock of 128 runs from just 63 balls (including 15 fours and 7 sixes) against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, Delhi fell short of victory. Batting first, they set a target of 187 runs. However, Hyderabad chased it down successfully thanks to fifties from Shikhar Dhawan (92 runs off 50 balls) and Kane Williamson (83 runs off 53 balls). Delhi lost the match but Pant won everyone's hearts with his batting bravado, which is still remembered as one of the greatest IPL knocks.
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