I will try my best, sir: Emotional Rishabh Pant tells Sunil Gavaskar after SRH thrashing

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar had some much-needed motivating words for Rishabh Pant after the latter endured a tough outing as a captain during the game between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday (April 20).

Barring the toss, nothing much went right for the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals side in the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman's decision to bowl first turned out to be a nightmare as SRH's in-form openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma came out firing on all cylinders.

They went for the big shots right from the start as SRH raced away to 125 runs in just six overs. Head completed a 16-ball fifty and went on to smash 89 runs off just 32 balls with the help of 11 fours and six sixes. Sharma, on the other hand, scored 46 runs from just 12 balls. An unbeaten half-century from Shahbaz Ahmed then took SRH to a mammoth 266/7, their third 260-plus total in IPL 2024.

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Sunil Gavaskar cheers up Rishabh Pant:

In reply, DC were bowled out for 199 runs in the final over of the innings. A record 15-ball fifty gave DC a glimmer of hope but the middle and lower-order batters failed to capitalise on it. Rishabh Pant himself faced 35 deliveries but hardly caused any problem for SRH as he managed to score only 44 runs.

He struggled to play the big shots throughout his knock as DC suffered their fifth defeat this season. After the heavy loss, the DC skipper looked absolutely dejected and Sunil Gavaskar decided to cheer him up. With the wicketkeeper-batsman enduring such a tough night on his emotional homecoming, Gavaskar took a moment to uplift his spirits.

"I never want your head down, there are lots of games so keep a smile always," Gavaskar told Pant.

The India wicketkeeper was moved by Gavaskar's motivating words and came up with a heartwarming reply, saying: "I will try my best, sir."

A fine return for Rishabh Pant:

While Rishabh Pant failed to make an impact as a captain and batsman against SRH on Saturday, he has made a brilliant return to action. The wicketkeeper-batsman has hit the ground running in IPL 2024 after being on the sidelines for over a year as he was recovering following the horrific car accident.

He is currently DC's highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. In eight games so far, the southpaw has scored 254 runs with the help of two half-centuries.