Selection Thought Was Running In My Mind, Says Rishabh Pant After Starring With Bat

Rishabh Pant, on Monday, starred with the bat to help Delhi Capitals thrash Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets and take another giant leap towards the playoffs. With 7 wins from 11 games, Delhi are now looking set to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Asked to bat first, Royals were off to a disastrous start with Sanju Samson getting run out in the second over without even facing a ball.

However, Ajinkya Rahane stood tall and scored his second century of the IPL and first since 2012 to bail the Royals out of trouble. In the company of skipper Steve Smith, Rahane batted Royals to a position of strength. It looked like the Royals were on course for a total well over 200 before Smith fell to Axar Patel after scoring his 2nd successive fifty. But unlike Smith, Rahane continued his exploits with the bat and went on to complete a fine century off 58 balls.

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However, the Royals just could not finish their innings on a strong note as they managed to collect just 41 runs in the last 30 balls. The failure to score quickly in the death over hurt Royals as Delhi Capitals chased down the 191-run total. Dhawan gave Delhi a quick start and departed after slamming 54 from just 27 deliveries.  Delhi lost Shreyas Iyer cheaply but Shaw and Pant batted the Royals out of the game by adding 84 runs for the third wicket.

Pant remained unbeaten on 78 from just 36 deliveries to take his team home in the very final over.

An unbeaten 78* from Rishabh Pant as the @DelhiCapitals win by 6 wickets ??#RRvDC pic.twitter.com/IxI9lAzgw2

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2019

Pant’s knock contained 6 fours and 4 sixes as he showcased his finishing abilities again. Following the game, Pant, while receiving his Man of the Matcha award, stated that the recent snub from World Cup snub played on his mind. The young wicketkeeper-batsman could not get a place in the 15-man squad with the selectors preferring Dinesh Karthik.

“I am feeling lovely. To make your team win in an important match is a good feeling. I won’t lie, the selection thought was running in my mind,” Pant said at the post-match press conference.

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“I focussed on my process and it worked for me. The wicket was playing good, and I just took advantage of that, I guess. Most important thing for our team is that everyone knows our role, and the support staff tells us, ‘this is your role, and this is what is going to happen to you’,” he added.

Pant, however, has made it to India’s standby list and still has a chance of playing the mega-event.