Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant put up a solid fight in the mammoth 273-run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. The flamboyant batter tried to keep Delhi alive in the game with a blistering half-century but it wasn’t enough for his side as KKR registered a massive 106-run win to move top of the table.
Pant smashed the KKR bowlers during his 55-run knock in 25 balls as his knock was laced with 4 fours and 5 sixes but the one shot which stood out was the no-look six off Venkatesh Iyer’s delivery. The bowler missed his line and bowled it on the leg stump and Pant flicked it over fine-leg for a maximum. The outrageous shot forced KKR co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to leave his seat as he stood up and applauded the DC skipper for his sensational six.
Apart from Pant, Proteas batter Tristan Stubbs also put up a fightback for the Capitals and scored 54 in 32 deliveries but the KKR bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals to bundle out the hosts for 166 in 17.2 overs. The Capitals never looked like they were in the game be it with the ball or the bat. They crumbled under the pressure of the mammoth total.
After the defeat, Pant talked about what his team’s approach was after KKR hammered them for 272/2 – the second-highest total in IPL history.
“As a batting unit, we talked about going hard (after the target) and that’s how we approach these games because it is better to be all-out trying to go for the total than not chase it down,” Pant told the broadcasters.
Earlier, Batting first, the seasoned Sunil Narine and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi struck scintillating half-centuries to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an imposing 272 for seven.
Narine blasted 85 in a mere 39 balls while the 18-year-old Raghuvanshi smashed his way to 54 off 27 deliveries, as the DC bowlers ran for cover.
Andre Russell blazed away to 41 in just 19 balls while Rinku Singh made 26 in eight balls, continuing KKR’s dominance through the innings.
