IPL 2021: "We made it tough for us" - Rishabh Pant reacts after beating CSK in a close tie
Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant was a happy man after securing a top-two finish, beating Chennai Super by three wickets on Monday.
Chasing 137 runs, the Capitals took the game before Shimron Hetmyer won it for last year's runners-up with two balls to spare. Pant conceded that it was a tough-fought win for them.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rishabh Pant said:
"Not a birthday present, was a tough match, we made it tough for ourselves. In the end, if we win everything is fine."
A ton of wins 💯
🔝 of the table 😍
Tonight is a good night 💙
#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #DCvCSK https://t.co/f1jqGk1Ix9
Despite a decent start from the bowlers, Delhi Capitals lost the plot in the death overs with Ambati Rayudu (55*) scoring some crucial runs to take Chennai to 136 runs.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan got the Capitals off to a flying start but Chennai managed to make a comeback with a couple of wickets in the cluster. However, Shimron Hetmyer (28* off 18 balls) ensured DC got past the target safely.
Rishabh Pant, who had a rare off-day with the bat, stressed that they were always in the game. He said:
"In the powerplay, they came hard and got away. After that, we bowled some good overs. In the end, they got away with some extra runs. With the bat, Prithvi got us to a good start. We were always in the chase as it was a low total, in the end, we got over the line. Prithvi is going to play that well and Shikhar is going to help him playing that way but started well. We got what we needed from him and in the Hetty (Hetmyer) finished it off for us."
With the victory, the Delhi Capitals now have 20 points from 13 matches to secure a top-two finish.
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"Trying to keep the right-left combination" - Rishabh Pant on Ravichandran Ashwin's promotion
Before today, Ravi Ashwin had only batted at number six twice in IPL. Returning two runs from those two innings. #IPL2021 #DCvCSK
Delhi Capitals pulled out a trick from their bag by promoting Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel. Speaking on the same, Rishabh Pant admitted that they wanted to continue the right hand-left hand combination. He added:
"We were just trying to keep the right-left combination. Big win, because of this we can be absolutely sure that we can finish in the top two. So it's a great win for us."
The Delhi Capitals play the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last league game on Friday in Dubai.