Skipper Rishabh Pant struggled during his knock of 35 off 32 deliveries in the first game of the 2024 Delhi Premier League for Purani Dilli 6 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday (August 17).
The DPL is being organised for the local players of Delhi, with several India stars in action over the next few weeks. Pant, who represents Delhi in domestic cricket, was one of the key picks in the player drafts for the tournament held at the start of the month. He was picked by Purani Dilli 6, joining players like Ishant Sharma and Lalit Yadav in the squad.
The first game of the DPL began on Saturday (August 17), with Purani Dilli 6 taking on South Delhi Superstars. Pant, who is also captaining his side, walked out to bat at No.3 in the third over after his team were asked to bat first.
The left-hander struggled to get going and was batting at 10 off 14 at one stage even as his partner Arpit Rana got to his fifty off 37 balls.
Pant especially struggled against the slower bowlers, with off-spinner Ayush Badoni and mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi getting a stronghold over him. Pant made only 30 runs in 27 deliveries in the middle overs and was eventually dismissed by Kunwar Bidhuri. His innings contained four fours and a six, and came at a strike rate of 109.37. It is worth noting that the opposition did not have a single capped player in the XI.
His team ended up making 197-3 in their 20 overs with four of the other five batters striking above 140. 21-year-old Vansh Bedi finished off the innings with an unbeaten 47 in just 19 balls.
Pant’s struggles in T20s continue
Pant, who suffered a serious car accident in late 2022, has not been in the best of form in T20s ever since his comeback earlier this year. In the IPL, he averaged 40.54 and struck at 155.40, which dropped to 119.5 against the spinners, against whom he has traditionally done well.
In the T20 World Cup that followed, Pant made 171 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.42 and a strike rate of 127.61.
Pant’s innings in the Delhi Premier League spread concern with many questioning if his skills against the slower bowlers had been affected.
Rishabh Pant's white-ball struggles were all on display in the knock tonight. The Duleep Trophy will now be crucial to see where his red-ball batting stands. Hopefully the shot-making troubles are picked up and addressed at the earliest.
— Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) August 17, 2024
On a flat deck in the first game of DPL Pant is 24 off 27. This is not the IPL, this is not T20I. This is a state T20 league. He's now won the T20I WC win for India and yet here he is. He can't play spin at all. And this is not good news for the ICT.
— Kshitij Ojha (@Kshitij070) August 17, 2024
Pant looking absolutely clueless against the spinners.
— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) August 17, 2024
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