At the end of 13th over, Delhi Capitals were at 112 for three wickets. Collin Ingram had perished just when he looked set to explode and it seemed like Delhi might fail to put up a good score on a decent batting track.
In walked Rishabh Pant, India’s one of the most highly talked about young talent. In the recent times his glove work has come under the scanner while his batting in his recent international appearances lacked fire as well as any substance.
He is playing the IPL 2019 to book a place in the World Cup squad but at Wankhede stadium his immediate challenge was to take Delhi to a safe total taking into consideration Mumbai’s power packed batting line-up and the short boundaries.
And the young man did so in style.
The left-hand batsman took four balls to open his account but after that there was no stopping him. He clobbered Ben Cutting for two fours and a six in the 15th over and hammered Hardik Pandya for 6,4, and 6 on the last three balls of the 16th over.
Whoever watched Pant in recent times wouldn’t have felt that the young man is upto something big as this is what Pant is being doing- playing those cameos to lift the score and throwing away his wicket in over-aggression.
But this wasn’t the same story anymore.
Pant took on Mumbai’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah and sent him in the midwicket boundary for a six in the 18th over. In the next over he tore apart the young Rasikh Salam and and gathered two sixes and a four.
Pant signed off with another six off Bumrah in the final over and when he walked back he had pushed Delhi to 213 a score which eventually turned out to be too big to achieve for Mumbai Indians. And meanwhile he has also made a strong claim for the World Cup berth.
The Delhi batsman made 78 runs off just 27 balls and turned the game on its head with his fearless brand of cricket.
Delhi may not be the ‘daredevils’ anymore but in Pant there still roars a Daredevil!
