MUMBAI: Delhi Capitals’ Rishabh Pant threw caution to the wind, scoring an 18-ball half-century to lead his team to a 37-run victory in his team’s Indian Premier League opener against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Adding to Mumbai’s woes was the fact that Jasprit Bumrah left the field with an injury after the Delhi innings and did not return to bat. Mumbai continue to stumble at the start of the season, and have not won their opening match since 2012.
Pant finished unbeaten on 78 off 27, with seven fours and seven sixes, lifting his team to 213/6 in 20 overs. In reply, three-time champions Mumbai Indians, who had elected to bowl first, could only muster 176 from 19.2 overs. Though Yuvraj Singh, bought by Mumbai for his base price of `1 crore, returned to form with a well-crafted 53 (35) but he couldn’t quite help Mumbai get past the target.
Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma did his bit for the team, chipping in with two crucial strikes of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock within the powerplay to dent Mumbai’s chase. “It’s been a great journey, I’m trying to learn every day of my career,” said Pant, adjudged Man of the Match, for his unbeaten knock. “It feels good when your team wins. I always play according to the situation most of the time. This time I needed to increase the run rate. I took my chances, and it came off. Especially in T20s, you have to do something different. When bowlers cramp you for room, you need to make your own room,” he added.
In a city known for some of the most technically correct and gifted batsmen, Pant ripped apart the textbook and pulled off some outrageous, unorthodox shots. The highlight was a one-handed heave off Rasikh Salam in the penultimate over, one that sailed over long-on and into the second tier of the packed stadium.
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It was a steep learning curve for the 17-year-old Salam, who had won his debut cap only earlier in the day. Mumbai’s depleted bowling attack was taken to task by Delhi’s southpaws. At the top of the order, Shikhar Dhawan made a useful 43 off 36. More importantly, his 83-run partnership with South Africa’s Colin Ingram gave Delhi a solid foundation that Pant could build on.
But none of Mumbai bowlers nor fans were prepared for the mood Pant was in. Swinging his bat freely and shrugging off mishits or top-edges, the Delhi youngster motored on unbridled.Pant played at a scoring rate of over 200 from start to finish, and helped Delhi push beyond 200. Delhi Capitals made an incredible 82 runs at the loss of three wickets in the last five overs of their innings.
That seemed to be the difference between the two teams. Though there were a couple of cameos — Krunal Pandya with 32 and de Kock with 27 — Mumbai lost wickets regularly, and never really got into the game. Yuvraj, who had a forgettable IPL last year for Kings XI Punjab, received a warm welcome from the Mumbai crowd and the left-hander did give them some vintage shots. But he lacked the fluency and consistency to make a serious dent .
Meanwhile, for Delhi it was the pace and control of South African pacer Kagiso Rabada that gave them the edge. Rabada conceded only six runs off his first two overs and finished with figures of 2/23 in his four overs.