Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta heaped rich praise on Rishabh Pant, saying the Delhi Capitals captain was looking calm and composed in his first outing as skipper of the former finalists in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Deep Dasgupta, speaking to Sports Today, pointed out that Rishabh Pant will need a couple more games to settle down into his role but the early impressions were spot on. Dasgupta’s comments came after Delhi Capitals won their IPL 2021 opener against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai on Saturday.
CSK vs DC, IPL 2021: Report | Highlights
Rishabh Pant began his IPL captaincy career on a winning note, outsmarting his idol and mentor, MS Dhoni in what turned out to be a one-sided contest. Led by Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw‘s power-packed opening stand of 138, DC gunned down a 189-run target at the Wankhede Stadium with 8 balls and 7 wickets to spare.
Rishabh Pant was not overawed by the sense of occasion and handled his troops well even when the likes of Suresh Raina and Sam Curran were going big in the middle overs, according to Dasgupta. Notably, Pant won the toss and put CSK into bat, highlighting the role of dew which played a big role in Match 2 of IPL 2021.
“As far as his captaincy, I think it’s little too early but there are few things he could have done differently. But getting flustered, no! He looked pretty calm even when Suresh Raina and then Moeen Ali or Sam Curran, in the death, went after the bowlers. His body language was good, nice and calm,” Dasgupta said.
“As far as his body language is concerned, you can understand, big franchise and first-time captain, last year’s finalist. Also, you have these really senior players like Shikhar, Ajinkya, Ashwin so it can’t be easy. So give him another couple of games to settle down in his role. Ricky Ponting is there as coach. So another couple of games, he will settle down in his role.”
Pant batting at No. 3 was a great move: Dasgupta
Pant let the game drift away Delhi Capitals a bit in the middle overs but most of his decisions worked in Delhi Capitals’ favour in their opening-day win.
Pant also promoted himself to No. 3 after the strong opening stand from Dhawan and Shaw. He did not try to do anything fancy but hit a composed 12-ball 15 and stayed unbeaten to take the Capitals past the finish line.
“I mean that’s a great move (Pant batting at No. 3). That is something that we will see more often from DC. If they have a good start more often, we will see that more often because of their firepower in the middle. They have Hetmyer, Rishabh himself and Stoinis,” Dasgupta said.
Pant will be looking to build on the winning momentum when Delhi Capitals take on Rajasthan Royals in their second match of IPL 2021 in Mumbai on Thursday.
