Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant was not at his best in the must-win game against Mumbai Indians (MI). Pant faltered and his mistakes helped the game slip away at crucial junctures. The costliest mistake was of not opting for DRS when Tim David had edge one off Shardul Thakur when he came to the crease. After the game, Pant explained why he did not go for the review.
“I thought there was something (noise). Everyone standing in the circle wasn't convinced and at the end I didn't go up,” Pant blamed his teammates for convincing him not to take the review.
Later, Pant opted for DRS when the ball was clearly pitching outside leg stump. When David was new to the crease, DC had two reviews left in the bag. Had DC gone for the review, David would have been out for a golden duck and Capitals would have had a better chance to defend the total as MI did not have enough firepower down the order.
David went on to play a blinder of an innings. He smashed 34 runs from just 11 deliveries which included two fours and four sixes that helped MI chase down 160 with five balls to spare.
Earlier, Pant dropped an easy catch of Dewald Brevis off Kuldeep Yadav. The dropped catch did not cost DC much as Shardul Thakur got rid of him.
“For most of the game we were on top. On occasions, we let the game slip away from our grasp when we were on top. That's what we were doing throughout the season. Not good enough to win this match I guess,” Pant further added.
The wicketkeeper-batter also felt that dew played a factor in the later stages of the game. The dew made it hard for fast bowlers to grip the ball. In the last over, Khaleel Ahmed bowled a beamer at Ramandeep Singh in an attempt to hit the block hole.
“We bowled well throughout the tournament, but dew came in towards the end and we didn't bowl to our plans,” the 24-year-old explained.
