The match-changing moment between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians came when Rishabh Pant decided not to go for the review against Tim David in the run-chase of 160 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.
There was an apparent noise and Pant should have gone for the review as DC had two in the bag.
However, the DC captain decided not to take the review as he revealed everyone in the circle wasn’t convinced. It was a half-hearted appeal from DC bowlers and the umpire remained unmoved. However, there was a clear spike on the UltraEdge.
It turned out to be a match-defining moment as Tim David scored 34 runs from 11 balls with the help of two fours and four sixes. David was not even off the mark when Rishabh Pant gave him a reprieve and he got the asking rate down with his hard-hitting.
Tilak Varma (21 off 17) and Ramandeep Singh (13 off 6) added the finishing touches for Mumbai Indians. Earlier in the run-chase, Ishan Kishan had played a handy knock of 48 runs.
Rishabh Pant admitted that they were in a dominant position throughout the match but they could not win the crucial stages of the game. The DC skipper rued the fact that they were not consistent enough throughout the season after they were knocked out following a five-wicket loss.
Rishabh Pant said in the post-match presentation, “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. It’s not about pressure. We could have done better execution and planning. Learn from mistakes and come back stronger next year.
We were 5-7 runs short but we bowled really well. We bowled well throughout the tournament, but dew came in towards the end and we didn’t bowl to our plans. It’s hard but we got to take it on our chin and learn from it.
I thought there was something (about not reviewing the Tim David caught behind). Everyone standing in the circle wasn’t convinced and in the end I didn’t go up. We were discussing (with Ponting) that we will tell bowlers to keep it simple. Just keep doing what is working for us and keep believing.”
DC will be hugely disappointed as they had the match in their grasp but they could not finish it. It could have been a different story had Rishabh Pant taken the review against Tim David but it wasn’t to be.
Delhi will now look to bounce back stronger in the next season of the IPL.
