"We tried to focus on controllables" - Rishabh Pant after DC beats MI in a thrilling contest
Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant has admitted they had lost all hope at one point before Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel pulled off a thrilling win against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Brabourne Stadium.
When Axar Patel walked out to bat, the Delhi franchise needed 74 runs from 6.4 overs. Lalit and Axar unleashed a different brand of cricket to chase down the total with ten balls to spare.
That's what it means to him π₯Ίπ
A La-πππ performance π₯
#YehHaiNayiDilli | #IPL2022 | #DCvMI
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Following a winning start to IPL 2022, Rishabh Pant revealed that their plan was to focus on what was in their control. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the 24-year-old said:
"At the back of our minds with us losing wickets, we felt it was gone, but we just kept believing. We tried to focus on controllables. We knew we didn't have a lot of manpower with Mitch Marsh and Warner not here. But we just wanted to make use of whatever we had."
Chasing 178 runs, the Capitals were under pressure after being reduced to 77/5 in the tenth over before Shardul Thakur also followed suit after a small cameo.
But Lalit kept his calm and along with Axar Patel paced the run chase to perfection. Lalit remained unbeaten on 48 while Axar chipped in with a valiant 38 off 17 balls to take DC home in a thrilling contest.
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"It is one of the best spells of Kuldeep" - Rishabh Pant lauds his spinner
For his wonderful show with the ball, Kuldeep Yadav is the Player of the match ππ
Well bowled @imkuldeep18 π
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Meanwhile, it was comeback man Kuldeep who pulled the brakes on Mumbai's batting after Rohit Sharma threatened to take the game away.
He eventually returned with figures of 3/18 in his four overs, which included the wickets of Rohit, Anmolpreet Singh and Kieron Pollard.
Praising Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant reminded that there is no scope to be complacent. He added:
"It is one of the best spells of Kuldeep in a long time. He was just giving it his everything in the nets and at practice. It is important to not be complacent after just one match."
Delhi Capitals will play their next game against Gujarat Titans on April 2 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.