IPL 2021: We Just Kept Believing, The Bowlers Nearly Pulled It Back - Rishabh Pant After Loss To KKR 

Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals skipper, was emotional when talking after his team was knocked out of IPL 2021 following their loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday in Sharjah. KKR registered a three-wicket win in a last-over thriller in Qualifier 2 to book a place in the final as DC’s campaign came to an end.

Rishabh Pant hailed the efforts of his bowlers to not only pull the game till the last over, but also for giving DC a chance to win it, after at a time the game seemed lost much earlier.

Chasing 136, KKR got off to a flyer from Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill with a 96-run opening stand. KKR were 123/2 at the 16-over mark before the slide began. They slipped to 130/7 at 19.4 overs before Rahul Tripathi, with 6 needed off 2, smashed R Ashwin for a maximum to take KKR over the finish line.

“I don’t have words to express at the moment, can’t tell anything. We just kept believing, tried to stay in the game as long as possible. The bowlers nearly pulled it back, but it’s unfortunate that it didn’t go our way,” said an emotional Rishabh Pant at the post-match presentation.

They bowled very well in the middle-overs: Rishabh Pant

While lauding the KKR bowlers for their tight bowling during the middle-overs, after DC had got a good start from the openers, Rishabh Pant lamented for the fact that his batters weren’t able to rotate the strike well and also not able to find the boundaries in that phase.

“They bowled very well in the middle-overs, we got stuck and couldn’t rotate strike. Delhi Capitals are known to be positive and hopefully, we’ll come back better next season,” he added.

The 24-year-old, however, remains proud of the effort his side has put in this season and the success they have achieved – DC finished at the top of the points table, with 20 points. The DC skipper vowed to come back better and stronger next season.

“We played really good cricket, yes, there will be ups and downs, but we’ll stay positive, be there for each other, care for each other and hopefully we’ll come back better next season,” Rishabh Pant concluded.

The Knight Riders will now meet MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021 final, to be played on Friday in Dubai.

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