Rishabh Pant missed two DRS calls against Kolkata Knight Riders but the Sunil Narine one proved to be very costly for the Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals had a forgettable night on Wednesday as the side conceded the second-highest total in the Indian Premier League history during the game against Kolkata Knight Riders. After the Knight Riders opted to bat in Visakhapatnam, it was an exhibition in power-hitting from their opener Sunil Narine, who smashed 85 runs in just 39 deliveries; 18-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi was also impressive with his 54 in just 27 balls, as the KKR duo smashed the DC attack all around the park.
Delhi Capitals’ skipper Rishabh Pant during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024(ANI)
Interestingly, the Capitals squandered an opportunity to dismiss Narine on just 22 during the fourth over of the game. After the West Indian had smashed Ishant Sharma for two sixes and a four off the first three deliveries of the over, the veteran pacer found an edge that travelled to the wicketkeeper and captain Rishabh Pant. However, Pant felt there was no edge and even as Mitchell Marsh pushed him to take the review, the wicketkeeper was late in signalling for the DRS.
Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.
The lack of review, clearly, came to bite the Capitals back for the rest of the innings, and Pant was asked about the same during the post-match presentation ceremony. The DC captain stated that he couldn’t see the DRS timer on the big screen, and the noise was too loud for him to hear the edge.
“It was quite loud (the venue) and I couldn’t see the timer on the screen and there was some issue with the screen as well, there are some things you can control and some you cannot control, you just need to go with the flow,” Pant said.
Interestingly, that was not the only DRS call that Pant missed on Wednesday. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer got a nick off Rasikh Salam Dar’s ball in the 15th over but Pant once again said he didn’t hear anything. After that, Iyer hit two sixes off in the next two overs before getting out for 18.
Delhi Capitals now have three losses in four matches; they registered their first win last season against the high-flying Chennai Super Kings, but failed to bank on the momentum against the KKR.
“Time to reflect better as a team, as an individual and come back strong in the next game. I am enjoying each and every day (talking about his fitness and comeback) and cricket has its own ups and downs, and at the same time you can try and give your best as an individual,” Pant further said.
Up next, MI
The Capitals will now face the struggling Mumbai Indians, who reel at the bottom of the table without a win in three matches. MI faced defeats to the Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals in their opening matches of the season and also face additional concerns over the excessive fan anger towards their captain, Hardik Pandya.
