IPL 2021 | Have already started enjoying captaincy; bowlers did a great job, admits Rishabh Pant

Coming into the 2021 IPL season, the pressure was always going to be on the shoulders of Rishabh Pant, after his fantastic display with the Men in Blue over the past six months. While Pant got off to the best possible start, with a win over Chennai Super Kings, his side succumbed to a defeat against Rajasthan Royals in their second encounter, making their third clash crucial. 

After winning the toss at Wankhede, Pant immediately opted to field first, a move that looked likely to backfire. However, Delhi’s strong bowling display towards the back end of the innings, resulted in restricting Punjab Kings to a total of 195, after they were on 122 at the end of the 13th over. Eventually, Delhi cruised to a win, on the back of Shikhar Dhawan’s impressive 92 off just 49 deliveries. 

In the post-match presentation, the new skipper Pant admitted that he has already started enjoying captaincy, after wrapping up his second win. Pant also insisted that the bowlers did a great job of restricting the Punjab Kings to a total of below 200. He also stressed the importance of Shikhar Dhawan to the unit, who put on a match-winning display. 

“Coming from a loss, winning the next match was important. Have already started enjoying captaincy. But we were under pressure at the start, the wicket was not doing much. Bowlers did a good job keeping them to 190. What he's (Dhawan) giving to the team is commendable. Want to keep it light so people can enjoy their cricket,” Pant said in the post-match presentation.