DC vs PBKS: I Have Been Impressed By Rishabh Pant's Captaincy - Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan heaped praise on Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant for his calmness in the leadership role. Despite being hit with the COVID-19 precarious situation, Delhi Capitals exploded against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday with an emphatic nine-wicket triumph at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

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A couple of days ago Capitals were unsure to play their fixture against Punjab as five members including all-rounder Mithcell Marsh returned COVID positive. The incident forced the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift the match from Pune to Mumbai in order to avoid any further contraction due to any undetected case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment.

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Just ahead of the match, New Zealand player Tim Seifert became the sixth member of the Delhi Capitals contingent to catch the dreadful virus.

But the Capitals didn’t seem to disturb by all the events that transpired before the game. The moment Rishabh Pant and his men stepped on the field, the total distress vanished in thin air. Pant won the toss and elected to field first as Capitals’ strong-willed bowling unit bowled Punjab Kings out for 115.

Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Lalit Yadav each picked two wickets on what was called a sticky surface. But on the same pitch, Delhi Capitals openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw got the team to a frolicking start with 81 runs in the powerplay as they chased the mere target in just 10.3 overs with the loss of Shaw.

DC vs PBKS: I have been impressed by Rishabh Pant’s captaincy: Michael Vaughan

Vaughan was impressed with Pant’s captaincy and also hailed the Capitals’ openers for their fearless approach at the top. The former England skipper also feels head coach Ricky Ponting will be very pleased with Warner and Shaw’s ferocious batting.

“That opening combination is such a key part of the Delhi method, Prithvi Shaw and David Warner coming out and opening aggressively. And then the skipper himself who is settling into the job quite nicely. I have been impressed by Rishabh’s captaincy, he has been a lot calmer than I thought he would be. I thought he would be a bit excited but really impressed by his calmness,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.  

“You are just desperate when you need to win a match for one of your better players to show up and do something special. I think Ricky will be telling the team collectively to play smart but he will also be going to bed thinking, ‘come on Davey’ or ‘come on Prithvi’. Just one of you get off to a flying start, get a century and that pretty much does the trick in T20 cricket,” he added.

Delhi will play against Rajasthan Royals on Friday (April 22) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Also Read: DC vs PBKS: On A Wicket Like This, Ball Was Stopping So I Used Spinners – Rishabh Pant