IPL 2O22: 3 best knocks by Rishabh Pant in the previous editions of the league
All eyes will be on Rishabh Pant in IPL 2022 as he leads the Delhi Capitals in their attempt to win their maiden title. The franchise had a fruitful IPL 2022 Auction, acquiring the explosive David Warner while also adding some key names in Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, and Shardul Thakur.
As he leads a side that has all the firepower to win their first-ever winners' trophy, one can't discount Pant's own batting prowess. His ability to switch gears seamlessly makes him one of the most dangerous players in the slog overs.
Over the years, Rishabh Pant has raked up 2,498 runs from 84 IPL matches at an average of 35.18 and a strike rate of 147.16. He had a decent outing with the bat in IPL 2021, scoring 419 runs from 16 innings at an average of 34.91 — his third-best performance in the tournament, behind the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Ahead of the start of IPL 2022, we take a look at Rishabh Pant's best performances for the Delhi Capitals.
#1 IPL 2018, DC vs SRH: Rishabh Pant's scintillating 128*
The match may not have gone the way of Rishabh Pant's IPL team, but the southpaw lit up the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi with a scintillating century. His unbeaten 128 came off just 63 deliveries and was studded with 15 fours and 7 sixes. His knock helped the Delhi Capitals score 187 in their 20 overs.
In response, the Sunrisers Hyderabad team was buoyed by solid knocks from Shikhar Dhawan (92* off 50) and Kane Williamson (83* off 53) as they won comprehensively by nine wickets.
Check out the updated IPL point table here.
#2 IPL 2019, MI vs DC: Pant slams an unbeaten 78
Put into bat, Delhi were boosted by the knocks of Shikhar Dhawan (43 off 36) and Colin Ingram (47 off 32). But, the impetus in the final stages of the innings came from Rishabh Pant who powered his way to a 27-ball 78*, comprising 7 fours and as many sixes.
This helped Delhi Capitals set a daunting 214-run target for Mumbai Indians, which they eventually fell short of by 37 runs, despite a fighting half-century from Yuvraj Singh.
#3 IPL 2021, DC vs RR: Pant's breezy 52
There was a top-order collapse in this match for Delhi Capitals as they stuttered to 37/4. Then, Pant steadied the ship with a breezy 31-ball 52. Although there were no sixes in his innings, he found the fence nine times and helped his side post a modest 147/5 on the board.
It wasn't enough as David Miller found some form and crashed 62 runs off just 38 balls. This allowed Rajasthan Royals to register a three-wicket win.