VISAKHAPATNAM: Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant felt his bowlers could have done the basics better at the back end as the target of 210 was defendable against a marauding Delhi Capitals who won by one wicket with three balls to spare in their IPL match on Monday.
Ashutosh Sharma’s unbeaten 66 off 31 balls and Vipraj Nigam’s blistering 39 off 15 deliveries orchestrated an improbable comeback for Delhi Capitals as they secured a stunning one-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants with three balls to spare in their IPL clash on Monday.
At one stage, DC were struggling at 113 for 6 in pursuit of a daunting 210-run target, but Ashutosh and Vipraj turned the game on its head with their fearless hitting.
Reflecting on the loss, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant felt his bowlers could have executed the basics better in the crucial moments.
"I think our top-order batters played really well, and it was a pretty good score on this wicket. We got early wickets, but we knew it was a good pitch to bat on. We had to keep doing the basics right more often. I think they had a couple of good partnerships," Pant said at the post-match presentation.
He credited DC's middle-order resurgence, particularly Tristan Stubbs, who laid the foundation for the late assault.
"One with Stubbs, with Ashutosh, and one with one other guy (Vipraj Nigam). I think he (Nigam) did a pretty good job and took the game away from us. There was enough for the bowlers, but I think we could have done the basics right.
"We felt the pressure, we are still settling in, but there are a lot of positives to take from this match."
An ecstatic DC skipper Axar Patel, revelling in his leadership style, said his tenure would be a rollercoaster ride.
"Be prepared for it now. It's going to be like this only under my captaincy. Things will be up and down a little. Now that we have won, people won’t complain about why I gave that over to Stubbs (28 runs)."
With batters increasingly dominating the format, Axar pointed out that this trend began last year.
"Don't remember the last time I saw something like this. The way they played in the first six overs, we felt we gave a few too many early on. We dropped some catches as well. It looked like they could score 240, but we pulled things back."
Player of the Match Ashutosh dedicated his award to his mentor Shikhar Dhawan and credited Vipraj for keeping the momentum alive.
"Well played to Vipraj. I asked him to keep hitting. He was very calm under pressure. Want to dedicate this award to my mentor Shikhar paaji."
Ashutosh also reflected on lessons learned from last season when he failed to finish a few close matches.
"Took the lessons from last year. Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focused and visualised it. Had the belief that if I played till the last over, anything could happen."
