Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant admitted they were a bowler short after their four-wicket loss against Punjab Kings in their opening match of the Indian Premier League 2024 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday.
After DC found themselves at 138-7 after 17.1 overs, the think tank was forced to sent Abishek Porel as an impact sub. Porel scored a fine cameo of 10-ball 32 to propel DC’s score to 174 but his introduction meant DC could not get an extra bowler in the second innings.
More salt was rubbed on DC’s wounds when Ishant Sharma, who got the big wicket of PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan in the Powerplay Overs, rolled his ankle while fielding. The lanky pacer was seen seen in a lot of pain and had to limp off the field.
In the end, PBKS won by four wickets after Sam Curran scored 63 runs off 47 balls whereas Liam Livingstone added the finishing touches, scoring an unbeaten 38 off just 21 balls.
Rishabh Pant said in the post-match presentation, “I think Ishant’s injury was clearly evident in the field, we were already one bowler short because of our batting, Abishek Porel did well to give us those extra runs, but we were always one bowler short. The boys did well to drag us back into the match at various stages. No excuses, having a bowler short was never good, but credit to PKBS for the way they played.”
Pant showered praise on Abishek Porel for playing a fine knock to take DC to a fighting score.
He added, “He’s pretty new (on Porel), 3rd or 4th game (for him), the way he batted was very special, looking forward to more from him as the season moves forward.”
Meanwhile, Pant made his much-awaited comeback to action and admitted he was a bit nervous. The left-hander had a soft dismissal as he ballooned the ball to the point fielder while trying to play the uppercut.
Pant concluded, “Was pretty nervous (on his comeback), there was a bit of tension, but I started to enjoy myself.”
DC will next square off against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
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