The swashbuckling Rishabh Pant demonstrated with his scintillating knock against Gujarat Titans that he is ready to roar in the upcoming T20 World Cup, according to Delhi Capitals batting coach Pravin Amre.
Pant, a month after returning to competitive cricket after recovering from multiple injuries sustained in a horrific car accident in December 2022, nearly sealed his spot as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls in DC’s four-run win over GT in an IPL match on Wednesday.
Skipper Pant and Axar Patel (66 off 43) put on a quick 113-run standoff 68 balls to propel DC to 224/4 after trailing 44/3 in their must-win match.
“He (Pant) began with a two-week camp in Vizag; he came there and prepared himself thoroughly. When he arrived at the Vizag camp, he went straight from the airport to the grounds.
“He was hungry and determined to make the most of every day. It’s all about his hard work, and it pays off,” Amre said at the post-match press conference.
“Obviously, a couple of good knocks boosted his confidence, and today we saw a special knock. Finishing was important, and we saw how Rishabh scored 31 runs against an experienced bowler (Mohit Sharma), indicating that he is in good form. Amre also praised Axar for making the most of his opportunity after being promoted to No. 3.
“If you recall from last year, he (Axar) was the one who was striking well, and this season, he batted in the last 4-5 overs, so it wasn’t fair. So the whole idea was to give them a chance.
“Axar played exceptionally well, but his partnership with Rishabh was particularly impressive. We were also struggling, scoring 46 odd runs in the powerplay with three wickets down.
“Axar has shown and that (partnership) was the reason that we got 96 runs in the last 5 overs,” he went on to say.
When asked about the match, Amre stated that Pant’s power-hitting in the final five overs made the difference.
“In the first half, it didn’t look like we’d get 180, but from there (44/3 in 5.4 overs), we managed to score an extra 20 runs. They came very close, but in this format, even a one-run victory is a win for us.
“Our target was 180, but Rishabh was confident and batted brilliantly in the final five overs. Mohit is an experienced bowler, and getting 31 runs off the last over made a difference,” he explained.
GT spinner Sai Kishore agreed that Pant and Axar’s partnership ultimately made the difference.
“Axar and Pant batted very well. Rishabh hit a lot of boundaries off good balls, not just sixes but fours as well.
“That got them the momentum and in the last 2 to 3 overs, we conceded more sixes than fours and that resulted in the game going out of hands,” Kishore went on to say.
