IPL 2021 | Bowled Stoinis in the 20th over as spinners werenât getting purchase, reveals Rishabh Pant
Pant expressed disappointment over DC's defeat
|@ IPL T20
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant, whose tactical blunder of bowling Marcus Stoinis in the 20th over cost his side a few runs, revealed that lack of purchase for spinners at the back end forced him to bowl Stoinis. Pant further conceded that RCB scored at least 10-15 runs more than par.
At 148/5 in the 19th over, Delhi Capitals looked like they were on their way to restricting Bangalore under 160, but a forgettable final over from Marcus Stoinis ended up pushing RCBâs score to 171. Having not bowled all game, Stoinis was thrown the ball in the very final over of the innings by skipper Rishabh Pant, and the decision turned out to be a tactical blunder as AB de Villiers got hold of the Australian and took him apart for 23 runs to undo the good work of the DC bowlers.
Pant has since been questioned non-stop by fans and experts for his decision to bowl Stoinis, and speaking post match, the DC skipper provided clarification. Pant revealed that he went with Stoinis as there simply wasnât enough purchase for the spinners towards the back end of the innings.
âWe counted the overs really well but in the end the spinners didn't get the help we thought they would, that's why I went with Stoinis for the last over,â Pant said, following Delhiâs 1-run loss.Â
The agony for Pant didnât stop with captaincy as he endured a tough time with the bat. A Shimron Hetmyer cameo took DC within touching distance of victory, but a plethora of mistimed strokes from the DC skipper meant that, chasing 14 runs in the final over, Delhi fell one run short. The 23-year-old, who ended the game with a SR of 120.83, described the loss as âdisappointingâ and insisted that RCB had posted an above-par score.
âFeeling disappointed. I think they were 10-15 runs extra on this wicket but Hetty played a brilliant innings, because of him we got close. When we had 14 or 16 to go, we were planning that whoever has strike has to go for it.â
The Capitals lost the game, but there were still plenty of positives for the side, including the performance of Avesh Khan, who once again impressed. DC, today, missed a chance to go top, but Pant asserted that the young Capitals unit will continue to learn from their mistakes as the season progresses.Â
âIt's good to take positives from all matches, as a young team we want to improve each and every day.â
