IPL 2019: Rishabh Pant’s blitzkrieg made Ishant Sharma nervous

The track at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai turned out to be an absolute belter in yesterday’s clash between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Delhi Capitals (DC). Rishabh Pant made the most out of the batting paradise courtesy of a blistering knock of 78 runs from 27 balls with the help of seven sixes and as many boundaries. The knock also fetched him the Player of the Match award.

Pant helped the Capitals amass a humungous score of 213 in 20 overs. The 21-year-old trod the attacking route right from the outset and remained not out. The run-chase turned out to be a mountain too high to climb for Mumbai and the hosts ended on 176 runs, thereby losing their opening match by 37 runs. In the meantime, Pant’s masterful knock made fast bowler Ishant Sharma nervous.

“Actually I was quite nervous. When you see the ball flying everywhere when Pant was batting, it shows how good a batting track it was. I was backing myself, I had a good County season, a good Test season as well and was among the wickets.

I was only trying to hold my nerve and control the process, because when you try and control the results, you lose track of the processes,” Sharma was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

Everyone is gelling together well

Sharma, who was brought by the Capitals at a price of INR 1.10 crore, said that the victory against Rohit Sharma and Co was a major boost for the team, who finished as the cellar dwellers in the erstwhile edition of the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Everyone is gelling together well and it doesn’t matter what the result is, which is how the team environment should be. Winning the first game against Mumbai Indians is a big boost for us. We have a new side, a good support staff and it was important to start off well,” he added.

As far as Ishant is concerned, he played his first IPL match after 2017 and didn’t disappoint as he conceded only 34 runs in his quota of four overs, besides picking up two crucial wickets of the openers- Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.

Here is Delhi Capital’s squad

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.