Twitter erupts as Rishabh Pant smacks Gujarat Lions out of the IPL

Many would have written Delhi Daredevils off today’s game at half time as Gujarat Lions posted a daunting total of 209 in front of an inconsistent batting unit. The speculation would have transformed into belief after Delhi lost the wicket of their captain Karun Nair inside the powerplay.

But the highlight of the match arrived when Rishab Pant came in to bat to join Sanju Samson. The duo made an absolute mockery of the asking rate as they smashed all the bowlers towards the upper tiers of the stadium. They did not hit sixes but they were all massive sixes as they made the ground look ridiculously small.

The starting point of the mayhem can be traced back to the 5th over of the inning which was designated to Pradeep Sangwan. Pant hit the first couple of balls out of the ground and the third one for a screaming boundary.

Even James Faulkner faced the wrath of Pant’s blade. He hit Faulkner for 22 runs in four deliveries with three sixes and a boundary.

The duo did not care for reputation as Samson as well hit a couple of sixes to welcome number 1 Test bowler Ravindra Jadeja. Even though Samson was dismissed after his half century, Pant continued his assault on Jadeja smacking a six and a four. Samson hit a 31-ball 61 at a strike rate of 196.7.

He hit no boundaries but 7 sixes in his innings while Pant scored a flamboyant 43-ball 97 at a strike rate of 225. The duo added 143 off just 62 balls as they were going at 14 per over to make a mockery of the asking run rate.

Earlier tonight Suresh Raina, Dinesh Kartik and Ravindra Jadeja lit the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium with their respective innings. Delhi Daredevils dropped key catches and let the Lions off the leash after dismissing Smith and Baz cheaply. Corey Anderson possibly caught the catch of the tournament. But in the end, it was all too small against Pant who won the must-win match for his team.

Here is how the Twitterati reacted to Rishabh Pant’s superlative innings: