Twitter Reactions: Rishabh Pant’s 21-ball blitzkrieg powers DC into IPL 2019 Qualifier 2

Delhi Capitals wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant on Wednesday put the dancing shoes on against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam, smashing 22 runs off one Basil Thampi over to turn the game in his side’s favour.

Chasing 163 to win, Delhi was in a spot of bother after twin-strikes from Khaleel Ahmed and Rashid Khan had left Shreyas Iyer & Co, side reeling at 111/5 after 16 overs.

But Pant, unfazed by the fall of wickets at the other end, went hammer and tongs in the 18th over bowled by Thampi. The 21-year-old began by smashing a full delivery down the ground for four before launching a slower delivery over deep mid-wicket for six. He followed it up with another four and a six to snatch the game from Sunrisers.

“If you are set, you have to finish it for your team. Next time, I will try to finish it for my team as I got very close tonight. I just try to be positive,” Pant said after the match.

“In T20s, you have to have a big over. We practise everyday with the same set of bowlers and we see the ball and not the bowler. Today, I didn’t try to hit it too hard and focused on timing.”

Earlier, a total of 139 runs were scored by Martin Guptill (36), Manish Pandey (30), Kane Williamson (28), Vijay Shankar (25) and Mohammad Nabi (20) as the rest of the batsmen were dismissed in single figures. As many as 10 extras were conceded by the DC bowlers as SRH finished at 162/8.

Now, with DC setting up the Qualifier 2 clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, here is how Twitter responded.

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CATEGORY: Delhi Capitals Rishabh Pant Sunrisers Hyderabad Twitter Reactions

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ANIRUDH SINGH
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