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With his side losing by four wickets to Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant said that his team was short on extra bowling options as pacer Ishant Sharma was injured.
Half-century by Sam Curran and his 67-run partnership with Liam Livingstone helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) secure a four-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in Rishabh Pant's comeback game during the Indian Premier League at Mullanpur on Saturday. Ishant was injured while bowling. Pant lauded batter Abhishek Porel for his hard-hitting knock. Pant also said that he was nervous while batting, but one has to go through it. "Ishant's injury was clearly evident because we were still one player short...we lagged with the batting a bit. Abhishek came in and chipped in with a few runs which were crucial. We were short on extra bowling. We actually pulled it back in the end but could not complete the job...(it is) part and parcel of the game. Personally, I was pretty nervous (on return to field) but you have to go through this when you enter the field. This isn't the first time being nervous, but happy about that," said Pant. "I think we had a par score but because we were one bowler short, because of an injury, cannot do much about it. Wicket played as we expected to play, cannot make excuses. We will learn from it but having one bowler short is never good. End of the day, well played to them (PBKS). Porel's finish helped us finish on a high. It was an amazing innings, congrats to him. I think it's just his third or fourth game but the kind of impact he made was huge. Really looking forward [to seeing him] this season," he added. PBKS put DC to bat after winning the toss. Fiery knocks on top by David Warner (29 in 21 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Mitchell Marsh (20 in 12 balls, with two fours and two sixes) helped Delhi Capitals start well, but they lost their way. Rishabh Pant made 18 off 13 balls in his comeback game. Delhi Capitals was struggling at 147/8, but an explosive cameo from Abhishek Porel (32 in 10 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) took DC to 174/9 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh (2/28) and Harshal Patel (2/43) were the top bowlers for PBKS. Chasing 175, skipper Shikhar Dhawan (22 in 16 balls, with four boundaries) started off well. Prabhsimran Singh also contributed a useful 26 in 17 balls with five fours. But it was the 67-run partnership for fifth wicket between Sam Curran (63 in 47 balls, with six fours and a six) and Liam Livingstone (38* in 23 balls, with two fours and three sixes) that sealed a four-wicket win for PBKS. Kuldeep Yadav (2/20) and Khaleel Ahmed (2/43) were the top bowlers for DC. Curran won the 'Player of the Match' for his knock. (ANI)
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