Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals has been on a roller-coaster ride this Indian Premier league 2024, as it lost four of its matches out of five played.
Even though sitting at the bottom of the IPL point table – with two points and a net runrate of -1.370 – Capitals are hopeful to bounce back with bang.
Meanwhile, Pant’s batting form has remained impressive as he notched up two half-centuries in the current IPL, one among them came against the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings.
It was Pant’s first 50+ score ever since he returned to the action post his accident, but his subsequent half-century against the Kolkata Knight Riders did showcased his true potential.
Capitals’ power-hitter Tristan Stubbs, who was with Pant at the end against the Knight Riders, has acknowledged the calming influence of DC skipper on his batting partners.
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Not only Pant, even Stubbs emerged as one of the most reliable players for Capitals — scoring three fifties to his name, including a spectacular unbeaten 71 off 29 balls against the Mumbai Indians on 7 April.
He hared a crucial 93-run partnership with Pant during DC’s match with KKR.
“It helps that he (Pant) is left, and I’m a right-handed batter, so there are different match-ups. He’d say he might fancy a particular guy; to be fair, he doesn’t even say that! He just plays the shots and takes the bowler on. So, that’s the left-right combination, and we complement each other quite well,” Stubbs told Hindustan Times.
Stubbs vehemently refutes critics pointing that Pant seemed rusty in his initial batting outings and asserted the DC skipper appeared in peak form even during net sessions before the season.
“He didn’t look rusty even before the tournament. We saw him in the practice games, and he was whacking them (bowlers) everywhere. (We knew) it was only a matter of time before he made runs.
“It is nice to bat with him because when you’re feeling the pressure, you just need to take a run, and he will do something spectacular. He’s a gifted player,” says Stubbs.
Stubbs reached to the top ten batters in the IPL Orange Cap, positioned at tenth spot after a total score of 174 runs in 5 matches. His best is 71 unbeaten runs at an strike rate of 193.33.
DC vs LSG 2024:
Delhi Capitals will face KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants on 12 April at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Currently, Delhi Capitals is at 10 spot, while LSG is at third spot with 6 points and a NRR of +0.775.
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Published: 12 Apr 2024, 06:06 PM IST