The Delhi Capitals (DC) end their campaign for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 under the leadership of Rishabh Pant, with a win over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 19-runs. They are at the fifth position in the points table with a net run rate (NRR) of -0.377, and look forward for a few results to go in their favor.
Delhi had a tough start in the tournament with one solitary victory in their first five encounters, but they turned the table with six victories in their last nine fixtures, one of which was huge wins over the LSG and Gujarat Titans.
Rishabh Pant showed his maturity with the leadership duties, by handling the crunch moments. He also managed his bowlers pretty well, besides setting good field-placement to keep pressure on the oppositions.
‘He is an instinctual captain’ – Sourav Ganguly praises Rishabh Pant
The former India captain and Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket, Sourav Ganguly feels that the Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has been fantastic in the 17th season of the tournament, and will improve with experience in the future.
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The wicketkeeper-batter made his return to the game, after his horrible car accident in December 2022, which ruled Rishabh Pant out for many cricketing events in the year 2023, including the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup at home.
“Rishabh Pant is a young captain; he’ll learn with time. The way he returned from injury to play a full season; we had our doubts during the off-season.’ Sourav Ganguly said to Jio Cinema. “Indian players are crucial, especially since the TATA IPL shifted to 10 teams. I am very happy for him that he returned to play so well over a full season.”
The captain of the runners-up India team in the 2003 ODI World Cup, Ganguly also wished the dynamic batter for a great future.
The veteran also pointed out that there were occasions when Pant made a few mistakes, but he also showed his smartness on few other incidents.
“With time, he’ll become a better captain. Nobody is a great captain from day one, but he is an instinctual captain, he makes decisions on the ground. With more time, he’ll get better,” Ganguly expressed.
Rishabh Pant ends the IPL 2024, with 446 runs in 13 innings, at an average of 40.54 and a strike rate of 155.40. The left-handed also celebrated his three-fifties in this edition, while playing a masterclass 88* knock against the Titans.
Sourav Ganguly applauds young pace bowling unit of Delhi Capitals
‘Prince of Calcutta’, Sourav Ganguly also applauded how the young pace bowling unit of Mukesh Kumar, Rasikh Salam have put their hands up in several times when needed.
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“You’ve seen Rasikh’s development over time. The more matches he played, the better he got. It’s not easy to bowl on the Delhi wicket. This wicket is great, and the ground isn’t that big, so I think for any bowler, it isn’t easy to bowl here,” Ganguly mentioned during the chat. “Rasikh has improved a lot. Mukesh has been our best bowler this season. He bowls all the difficult overs, whether at the start or at the death.”
Mukesh Kumar ends the season with 17 scalps in 10 innings at an average of 21.64, with a best figure of 3/14, and an economy of 10.36. He executed his plans quite well in the death overs (16-20).
“There has been no match this season where we didn’t need his bowling in the death,” Ganguly concluded. “We knew that conceding sixes would lead to more losses, so he has consistently delivered there. Our Indian bowlers have been great this season.”
Delhi need a few more results to go in their favour to stay among the top four of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.