Rishabh Pant set the Wankhede Stadium alight on Sunday night as Delhi Capitals piled on 213/6 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians in Indian Premier League.
Walking in to bat at 112/3 at the end of the 13th over, after Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first on a surprisingly green-ish track, Pant roared back to form. After suffering from a poor run with the Indian team recently, the 21-year-old played a blistering knock of 78 off 23 deliveries, with a stunning strike-rate of 289. His knock included seven boundaries and as many sixes.
Delhi Capitals didn’t get off to the most promising start as opener Prithvi Shaw [7] and skipper Shreyas Iyer [16] were back in the hut in the fourth over with just 29 on the board.
Shikhar Dhawan [43] and Colin Ingram [47] then added 83 runs for the third wicket to bring Delhi Capitals back into the match.
But it was Pant, on the back of some sensational strokeplay, who took the visitors from a respectable position to an absolutely match-winning one.
The left-hander didn’t spare any Mumbai bowler, including premier Indian fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah who went for 1/40 off his four overs.
Pant’s innings on Sunday will surely hold him in good stead for a World Cup birth. The Indian team still hasn’t sorted its middle order out and a couple of more such knocks from the Delhi lad could seal a spot for him in Virat Kohli’s team.
For now, he left Twitter in awe with his ball-striking.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!