IPL 2021 | Was special walking out for toss with Dhoni, have learnt a lot from him, asserts Rishabh Pant
Pant won his first game as skipper against CSK
|IPL
Delhi Capitals' skipper Rishabh Pant, after the game, expressed that it was special for him to walk out for the toss with MS Dhoni as he has learnt a lot from him. He also revealed that there was a point of time in the middle-overs when he was under pressure but bowlers did well to fightback.
MS Dhoni has been one of the biggest role models for cricketers across the world. Indian gloveman Rishabh Pant is no different as he has been greatly inspired by the former Indian skipper. The 23-year-old was named the Delhi Capitals' skipper after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the IPL due to an injury. Today, he captained the side for the first time that too against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings, which was a 'special' moment for him.
Reminiscing the moment he walked out for the toss, Pant said it was really special as Dhoni has been his go to man.
"It was very special walking out for the toss with MS. He has been my go to man. I have learnt a lot from him," he said in the post-match presentation.
After taking out the CSK openers early, Delhi Capitals were in a spot of bother after Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali started attacking the bowlers. Pant, also revealed that he was under a lot of pressure in the middle-overs but lauded Tom Curran and Avesh Khan for doing well. Not to forget, DC were missing their first-choice pacers Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada.
"It always feels good when you get the win in the end. In the middle phase, I was under some pressure. But Avesh and Tom (Curran) did well in the middle to restrict them to 188. We were thinking as to what we will do without Nortje and Rabada and I thought we had to do with the options we have."
DC openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw added 138 for the first wicket and ensured that DC won the game easily. The winning skipper also praised the duo.
"No, there was no effort for the NRR as it is still early stages in the tournament. Prithvi and Shikhar did well for us in the powerplay. They kept it simple and played some good cricketing shots," Pant added.
