IPL 2024: Rishabh Pant gets standing ovation as he walks out to bat after 15 months

India and Delhi Capitals (DC) wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant finally made his much-awaited comeback to the cricket pitch during the second game of IPL 2024 between DC and Punjab Kings on Saturday, March 23. The southpaw walked out to bat for the first time after almost 15 months as he took guard at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh after the fall of Delhi’s second wicket.

As Pant made his way towards the pitch, the 26-year-old was given a standing ovation from the crowd who rose to their feet to acknowledge the hard work the cricketer had put in to be match-fit after his horrific car crash on December 30, 2022.

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Notably, Pant survived a near-fatal car accident while travelling to his hometown Roorkee from Delhi in his Mercedes to celebrate 2022 New Year’s Eve with his family. However, the cricketer dozed off while driving as his car hit the divider and caught fire. The cricketer managed to escape from the burning vehicle with the help of some by-passers and went through multiple surgeries for the injuries he had incurred.

Pant scored 18 (13) in his comeback innings

Following his surgeries, the Haridwar-born cricketer went through a long rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to get ready for his much-awaited comeback. Meanwhile, Pant’s return didn’t last long at the crease as he got dismissed for 18 (13) by Harshal Patel. The southpaw scored two boundaries during his stay at the crease and left Delhi on 111/4 after 12.4 overs.

 DC further lost four more wickets and were left reeling at 147/8 after 18.3 overs before Abhishek Porel's quick fire cameo of 32 (10) took them to 174/9 in their allotted 20 overs. The southpaw was brought in as an impact player and scored 25 runs off the last over to help DC cross 170-run mark.