IPL 2018: I Enjoyed The Whole Tournament, Says Rishabh Pant After Bagging Emerging Player Of The Year Award

Unlike his team Delhi Daredevils, Rishabh Pant enjoyed a stunning season with the bat. The Daredevils had little to cheer for this season, finishing the competition with the wooden spoon. In an otherwise dismal season for the franchise, Pant was one of the few positives for them.

The young wicketkeeper-batsman looked in red-hot form throughout the season. Pant ended as the second highest run-getter in the tournament with 684 runs from 14 games. During the course of the tournament, he hit five fifties and one century. Not surprisingly, the 20-year old was named Emerging Player of IPL 11 after the final on Sunday. The hard-hitting also scooped another award – the Stylish Player Award.

Speaking after receiving the award, Pant said how he tried to approach his innings differently this year.

“I enjoyed the whole tournament; but it didn’t go well for the team though. When you play a lot of matches you get confidence and that helps me and the team. Last year I was trying to hit a lot of sixes, but in this season I’ve stopped my instincts from taking over.”

In other awards, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson (735 runs) got the Orange Cap while Kings XI pacer Andrew Tye (24 wickets) got the Purple Cap. New Zealand pacer and Pant’s IPL teammate Trent Boult got the Perfect Catch award for his stunning one-handed catch of Royal Challenges Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli. Defending champions Mumbai Indians, who could not make it to the play offs, were given the Fairplay Award.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets to win the title. Asked to bat first, the Sunrisers posted a competitive 178 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, the Super Kings rode on Shane Watson’s unbeaten ton to chase down the total with 9 balls to spare.