Once again, Rishabh Pant came good for Delhi Capitals when it matters the most for the team. The flamboyant striker of the ball took the game away from Sunrisers Hyderabad with his brilliant batting display. Meanwhile, the young Prithvi Shaw showered words of praise on the southpaw for his cricketing skills.
Prithvi Shaw termed that Rishabh Pant has the capability to take away the game from the opposition with ease. He believes that Pant is the best finisher available in the circuit from the current crop of young cricketers. Shaw feels that Pant will open the game for the team.
“In these T20 games, there’s a lot of pressure. I was praying that we win. Pant did a brilliant job. I have said that he is the best finisher among the young players. He always opens up the game for us. He has been doing very well. Unfortunately, he could not finish it for us, but Keemo did well in the end,” Shaw said at the post match press conference.
I waited for the loose balls – Prithvi Shaw
The youngster quoted that the batting was tough on Vizag wicket, as it was a bit sticky. Further, he revealed that the ball is coming late on to the bat, which made run-scoring tough for the team in the middle. Speaking of his batting, Prithvi Shaw quoted that he picked his balls and the powerplay is an advantage.
“First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen. It was a bit difficult to pull the ball. Since their bowlers were bowling cutters on a sticky wicket, it was not pulling. I waited and waited for the loose balls,” he said.
On facing Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir:
Further, speaking of the Qualifier-2, Shaw believes that the management will have the best plan against Chennai Super Kings at Vizag. As far as his own batting is concerned, Shaw quoted that he will smash the loose delivery whenever it is on the cards even if the bowler is Imran Tahir or Harbhajan Singh.
“The team will have a plan for Chennai. How to face which bowler like Harbhajan (Singh) Bhai, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) sir or (Imran) Tahir sir. We will have to plan. We will look to do what we’ve done earlier. Personally, whichever ball is lose, I will smash that ball. Even with Harbhajan Bhai and Tahir sir is bowling, I will obviously smash it,” Shaw added.
Prithvi Shaw thanks Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting:
After a brilliant 99 against KKR, Shaw hardly came good for the team. Despite that Ganguly and Ponting backed the youngster, which reaped the rewards at the crucial time. He thanked the management for showing belief on him despite the poor run in the middle.
“They believed in me and more importantly, I believed in myself and thanks to all the support staff…Sourav sir, Ricky sir, Praveen sir and Kaif sir, and players who give me lots of positive vibes. I just played my game out there,” said Shaw.
All in all, it has been a brilliant ride so far for Prithvi Shaw and his side Delhi Capitals. Now, they are one step away from reaching the finals of the tournament, which will be their first-ever final in the IPL history.
However, ahead of that, they got an acid test with Chennai Super Kings’ hurdle in the middle. They will lock horns on Friday at Vizag. The winner will meet Mumbai Indians in the final at Hyderabad on Sunday night.