Rishabh Pant was at the top of his game on Sunday evening as he took the Chennai Super Kings bowlers to the cleaners with his sensational strokes. During Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2024 match against CSK in Visakhapatnam, Pant scored 51 off just 32 balls with the help of 4 fours and 3 sixes. That also happened to be Pant’s first fifty in competitive cricket since his return from a horrific car accident he faced in December 2022. Pant made his comeback to competitive cricket with IPL 2024 but he failed to spread his magic with the bat in the first match. two games. However, in the third game, Pant’s fortunes changed.
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Comebackman Pant announced his arrival with a brilliant fifty after opening duo David Warner and Prithvi Shaw provided the foundation as Delhi Capitals posted a competitive 191 for 5 against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match on Sunday.
Warner and Shaw opted to bat and shared an opening stand of 93 runs, but the highlight of the day was Pant’s sensational knock, which ultimately gave them the impetus.
Pant, who entered the tournament after recovering from a life-threatening road accident in December 2022, scored his first fifty in 15 months.
The in-form Warner hit five boundaries and three maximums during his 35-ball 52, his 110th T20 fifty, which equaled Chris Gayle’s record of most fifty-plus scores in T20s.
In his first match this season, Shaw, who has not been able to live up to his immense talent, once again reminded everyone of his boundary-hitting skills as he smashed two sixes and four boundaries in his 27-ball 43.
However, pacer Matheesha Pathirana produced a sensational catch to dismiss Warner and then returned to strike twice in three balls to bring CSK back into the match.
But Pant, who looked good in his two previous innings, initially bided his time and then exploded to take them close to a total of 200.
Mitchell Marsh also hit two fours and a six in his 12-ball 18 cameo.
Earlier, while Tushar Deshpande used his variations well and gave just eight in his first two overs, Deepak Chahar, who bowled his three overs in the powerplay, was milked by the DC openers.
It was Warner, in particular, who singled out Chahar for the special treatment, twice putting him in the leg-side stands and punishing him for bowling into his pads.
He was particularly harsh on Chahar in the 5th over as after a second six he hit two fours on the off side and collected 18 from the over as DC made 42 in 5 overs.
Bowling the last over for the powerplay, Mustafizur Rahman was also taken to the cleaners with Shaw hitting three consecutive fours as DC recorded their highest powerplay score of 62-0 of this IPL.
Ravindra Jadeja was then welcomed with a six from Shaw before Warner pulled one over deep backward square leg for a boundary as 13 runs came from the over.
Pathirana bowled a good first over and consistently hit 145-plus with his swinging action.
However, Warner hit Jadeja for long before completing his fifty off 32 balls.
It took the brilliance of Pathirana to send him back as the Sri Lankan plucked the ball out of nowhere and completed a sensational catch, leaving Warner stunned as Mustafizur earned first blood.
Shaw hit another six to take DC past the 100-run mark but Jadeja dismissed him the next ball, giving him a lead while MS Dhoni did the rest for his 300th dismissal – the most by a keeper in T20s.
With the two openers gone, the scoring rate dropped while skipper Pant struggled.
Pathirana then put on a show, uprooting Marsh’s middle stump and then disturbing Tristan Stubbs’ wood in the space of three balls to leave DC at 134 for 4 in 15 overs.
Pant then stepped up, plundered a four and a six off Mustafizur and then launched Pathirana, hitting him for a six and two fours in the 19th over before going deep.
(With PTI inputs)
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