All eyes were on Rishabh Pant on Wednesday in what was his comeback game at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow. Unfortunately, it was far from ideal as Pant scored only 7 and his team, Lucknow Super Giants, lost to Delhi Capitals by six wickets.
Surviving an early hiccup, the Capitals rode on the maturity and determination of Sameer Rizvi (70 not out off 47 balls) and Tristan Stubbs (39 not out off 32 balls) to prevail over the Super Giants. The Capitals’ victory, though, was set up by their bowlers, as they bundled out the Super Giants for 141 in 18.4 overs after opting to bowl first.
At the start of their run chase, the Capitals found themselves reeling at 30/4 in five overs. KL Rahul, up against his former franchise, perished at deep point off the first ball from Mohammed Shami.
Halfway into the fourth over, Mohsin Khan removed Nitish Rana, before right-arm quick Prince Yadav knocked over Pathum Nissanka and captain Axar Patel off
consecutive deliveries in the fifth over.
The Super Giants were right back into the contest, till Rizvi and Stubbs resisted with their judicious shot selection and a clear gameplan on a pitch where hitting through the line wasn’t the easiest thing to do.
The duo were watchful against Shami, Prince and Mohsin. But whenever the others erred in their lines and lengths, there were no half-measures, particularly from Impact Player Rizvi, who finished with five boundaries and four sixes.
Rizvi and Stubbs’ plan worked to perfection as the Capitals reached home with 2.5 overs remaining.
Earlier, Pant’s opening partner Mitchell Marsh unleashed a straight drive that ricocheted into the stumps as the bowler, pacer Mukesh Kumar, got a hand on it. Since that run-out dismissal of Pant, almost nothing went the home team’s way.
Among the Capitals bowlers, left-arm quick T. Natarajan and Lungi Ngidi struck thrice apiece, while spinners Axar and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav took one and two wickets, respectively. One of Kuldeep’s wickets was that of the well-set Marsh, who was undone by a wrong’un from the left-armer.
The Super Giants’ innings would have been even lesser if not for some resistance from Abdul Samad (36 off 25 balls).
Killer slower
The slower delivery had been a massive weapon for Ngidi in the T20 World Cup, also
helping South Africa beat India in their Super Eight clash in Ahmedabad.
On Wednesday, Ngidi again showcased his slower-ball proficiency, especially with a beauty to clean up the Super Giants’ game-changer
Nicholas Pooran. The left-hander attempted an off-drive, only for the slow off-cutter to sneak past his bat and rattle the stumps.
His countrymate Anrich Nortje and Super Giants’ No.11 Mohsin also fell prey to Ngidi’s slower delivery.