Rishabh Pant in action for Delhi Capitals© AFP
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is the latest India star to express his apprehensions about the contentious impact player rule after his team won back-to-back high-scoring IPL matches in which chasing teams Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians came really close. Delhi Capitals posted their highest ever IPL team total of 257 for 4 and then managed to keep MI down to 247 for 9 despite some heavy-duty hitting by Tilak Varma, who scored 63 off 32 balls. “We were pretty happy with 250 on the board but with impact sub it is getting difficult each and every day,” Pant said at post-match presentation ceremony.
In order to stop the MI batters from stepping out, Pant stood up to likes of medium pacers Mukesh Kumar and Rasikh Dar.
“Definitely, I can keep up to the stumps but the bowler also should be confident…. with batters like Tim David walking down, and today it worked.” The skipper was all praise for Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has taken the IPL Universe by storm with another brutal knock — 82 off 24 balls with 11 fours and six sixes.
“He has been amazing since the first day and this is what you want from a younger player, he’s getting better and better with each game. The chances are increasing day by day, but we are taking it one game at a time.”
We lacked game awareness, says Hardik
With their chances of play-off qualification almost over, a dejected Hardik Pandya spoke about lack of game awareness in his team with southpaws like Nehal Wadhera and Tilak Varma not attacking left-arm spinner Axar Patel more. Axar conceded 2 sixes and a four in 12 deliveries and also restricted them to eight singles.
“We backed ourselves to chase this. We could have taken a couple of more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers could have probably gone after Axar (Patel) a little bit. It’s something we missed out in terms of game awareness.”
He was amazed at Fraser-McGurk’s batting.
“It was quite amazing the way Fraser-McGurk batted, he took calculated risks, he played the field really well. It shows the fearlessness of youth.”
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