Rishabh Pant exhibited clear signs of stress following another disappointing outing in the IPL 2024 season. The Delhi Capitals captain was understandably downtrodden after his team suffered a heavy defeat, this time by 67 runs to SunRisers Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, marking their fifth loss in eight games. The Capitals, now languishing in seventh place in the 10-team league, are finding their IPL campaign increasingly fraught with challenges.
The match itself was a spectacle of robust hitting, particularly during the powerplay; SRH, having chosen to bat first, amassed a record 125 runs in this segment alone. The blitz from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who stitched together a massive 131-run partnership, left the Delhi outfit reeling right from the start. Pant, who returned to his home ground in Delhi, acknowledged the toll these early blows took on his side. “I think the power play was the difference. We were just catching up throughout the match. That was the massive difference. Hopefully, we will come back with a more thought process and clearer mindset,” said a hopeful yet visibly dejected Pant during the post-match interview.
Assessing his decision-making, Pant admitted misjudging the conditions – specifically, the dew factor which did not play as expected at the evening game. “The only thought process behind that (deciding to bowl first) was we thought there would be some dew, but it didn’t come. I thought if we could restrict them to 220-230, we would be in with a chance,” he explained.
Seeing the young skipper’s despondence, cricket legend and commentator, Sunil Gavaskar offered words of encouragement from the commentary box: “I never want your head down; there are lots of games. So, keep a smile always.” Pant’s response, though brief, resonated with determined optimism, “I will try my best, sir.”
On the bowling front for SunRisers Hyderabad, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar may have secured just one wicket, his economical spell – conceding only 33 runs across four overs – was crucial in the context of a high-scoring match. “Feeling good. Not among the wickets, but the way I want to execute it is happening. Just a matter of time,” Bhuvneshwar commented on his performance. He praised his teammate, T Natarajan, who nearly achieved a hat-trick twice in a single over, eventually finishing with impressive figures of 4/19 in his four-over spell. “Amazing. We know how good he is at yorkers. He keeps working hard, silent guy, goes unnoticed a lot. We know how important he is for Sunrisers,” Bhuvneshwar added, also expressing satisfaction over SRH’s batting finally clicking after several challenging seasons.
Reflecting on the team’s current strategy and morale, Bhuvneshwar seemed optimistic about the newfound batting strength. “For so many years, this is the first time our batting is clicking so much. As a bowling unit, happy to take the back seat. They [the batters] are ruining us… when we defend 180 or so, it’ll feel like less,” he stated, inferring that a potent batting lineup relieves pressure off the bowlers to perform radically in every game.
As the IPL 2024 season progresses, both teams have their challenges cut out. For Delhi Capitals under Rishabh Pant’s leadership, the climb to playoff contention appears steeper with each loss. On the other hand, SunRisers Hyderabad will look to maintain their rhythm, hoping their balanced attack continues to deliver results. With more high-stake games on the horizon, both sides will aim for consistency to secure top positions in the intensely competitive league.