The focus was majorly on Rishabh Pant when the inaugural season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20 kicked off in the national capital on Saturday evening. The Arun Jaitley Stadium wasn’t even close to a full house but whoever turned up, they seemed to have come just for him. The Purani Delhi 6 skipper was the star attraction of the event, so much so that, the broadcasters’ cameras hardly focused on his rivals for the night – Ayush Badoni-led South Delhi Superstarz.
Once the flashlights were off and the floodlights enveloped the field, the wait to see Pant in action wasn’t long. He was in at no. 3 after Badoni opted to bowl first. Delhi lost their opener Manjeet early in the powerplay and the star India wicketkeeper-batter was ready to roll. But he failed to leave an impact in the only game he was playing in the league.
Pant wasn’t at his fluent best, in fact, too far from what he showcased in the USA during the T20 World Cup 2024. Moreover, Badoni’s tactics to deploy spinners against him seemed to have tied his hands. The South Delhi skipper himself came into the attack and troubled his counterpart along with mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi. Pant could gather just 10 runs from the first 14 balls.
The star batter, however, managed to showcase his quality in flashes; particularly with a slog sweep to Rathi for a four through midwicket in the 12th over and a pick-up shot for six over fine leg against Shubham Dubey in the 14th.
But the moment he got into the mood, he fell prey to seamer Kunwar Bidhuri’s short ball. Pant scored a 35 off 32 before walking back. Although he was part of a gritty 80-run stand with opener Arpit Rana, the latter did the heavy lifting with a 41-ball 59 which included eight boundaries and two sixes.
Pant with the ball
In one of the rarest on-field scenes, Pant didn’t keep in the DPL opener. He played as a pure batter while Vansh Bedi donned the gloves, who even contributed with a quick-fire 19-ball 47 not-out. Pant’s Delhi 6 set a 198 target which Badoni and his boys bettered with three wickets in hand. The South Delhi skipper and opener Priyansh Arya scored fifty, laying the foundation of the chase. With one run to defend off the last six balls, Pant came into the attack and put his leg-spinning skills on display.
Digvesh Rathi was on strike when Pant bowled a low full toss around off. The South Delhi tail-ender drilled it down the ground to collect the winning runs.
Rishabh pant bowling pic.twitter.com/QvM7tFZLcu— ¹⁷ (@twitfrenzy_) August 17, 2024
Felicitation of the World Cup Hero
Back at his home ground, Rishabh Pant was felicitated in a star-studded opening ceremony before the action unfolded on Saturday night. He received a grand welcome from the organizers while the crowd cheered for the India star. He was honoured by DDCA president Rohan Jaitley and BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla for his heroics in the ICC T20 World Cup.
#!DDCA President Mr. @rohanjaitley and BCCI Vice President Mr. @shuklarajiv honored Rishabh Pant for his ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. #AdaniDelhiPremierLeagueT20… pic.twitter.com/UnubMEU0Gf
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 17, 2024
Back to Test cricket
This was the first and the last game for Rishabh Pant in the inaugural DPL. With India’s home season beginning next month with a 2-match Test series against Bangladesh, his attention will soon shift to red-ball cricket. Since it will mark his return to the longest format after a horrific car accident in December 2022, he will feature in the Duleep Trophy, beginning September 5, for pre-series preparation.
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