- Shamser Khalid
Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill Meet After IPL Match
Indian Premier League (IPL) fans were in for a treat as Rishabh Pant made an appearance at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on April 4. Though he couldn't play, he was there to cheer on his team Delhi Capitals (DC) against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
Pant sat in the stands alongside Parth Jindal, DC's owner, and BCCI Honorary Secretary Jay Shah.
Shyam Sharma, the DDCA Director, believed that coming to the stadium for the first time after surviving a horrific car accident last year did a lot of good for Pant. "From his point of view, it was great as he was at home for so many days. He also went to the dressing room, where he met players and teams. It made for a very different atmosphere as he also sat with team owners and talked for a long time to Jay Shah (BCCI Secretary) and Rajiv Shukla (BCCI Vice-President)," he added.
Whenever the camera panned toward Pant during the game, he also stood and waved gently toward the fans who were chanting his name loudly
Visiting a Friend
During the match, Pant visited the Titans' dressing room and clicked a photo with his Indian teammate Shubman Gill. The Titans' official Twitter handle shared the photo, calling Pant a "special guest" in their dressing room.
DC later shared a picture of the duo on Twitter, captioned “A Ri-Shub union that we have all been waiting for."
Pant is currently recovering from multiple injuries he suffered in a car crash in December 2022, so he won't be able to play in IPL 2023 anytime soon. However, his presence in the stadium was enough to bring joy to his fans.
Lost Efforts from Delhi Capitals
Despite his absence, the DC team gave their all in the match against GT. However, Delhi's opening pair struggled again as Prithvi Shaw fell for just 7 runs, and Mitchell Marsh got out for a duck. The team captain, David Warner, took the anchor's role and was supported by Sarfaraz Khan, but their partnership didn't last long. Axar Patel played a vital knock of 36 off 22 to help DC post 162 runs.
Chasing the target, GT had a shaky start but maintained the required run rate throughout. Sai Sudarshan's unbeaten 62 off 48 and David Miller's quickfire 31 off 16 balls helped GT secure a comfortable six-wicket win with 12 balls remaining. With this win, GT has won both of their matches in the IPL 2023, while DC is struggling with two losses.
After the Match
DC skipper David Warner admitted that the ball swung more than they anticipated, and their batters couldn't adjust to the situation. He also explained that Axar Patel didn't bowl a single over because of the wicket and the matchups.
DC's loss to Titans put them in eighth place on the IPL 2023 points table, having lost both their matches, with a net run rate of -1.703.
DC's next match will be against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on April 8. Fans will be hoping for a better performance from their team, and maybe even another appearance from Rishabh Pant in the stands.
