Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was seen bowling leg spin in the inaugural match of the Delhi Premier League 2024 on Saturday. The Indian left-handed batter is leading Purani Dilli 6 in the first-ever season of the DPL.
It was a rare sight for the netizens as the wicketkeeper-batsman himself came to bowl an over of leg-spin in the final over of the game against South Delhi Superstars. Notably, this was the first time ever that Pant has bowled in a cricket match.
With only a run needed for the final over, Superstars batter Digvesh Rathi guided the ball towards long on to take a single off the delivery to secure a victory for his team.
Watch Rishabh Pant bowling leg spin:
A brief insight into the first match of Delhi Premier League T20 2024
This is the first time that the Delhi Cricket Board has inaugurated a T20 series among six teams representing different areas of the Delhi territory.
In the first-ever match, Purani Delhi-6, led by Rishabh Pant, played against the South Delhi Superstars, who were captained by the young Ayush Badoni.
Put on to bat first, Purani Delhi seemed comfortable on a batting-friendly track of the Arun Jaitley Stadium as opener Arpit Rana, alongside the skipper Pant, gave them a good start after the fall of their first wicket.
Rana was the match’s highest run-getter with 59 runs, while Lalit Yadav and Vansh Bedi added 34 and 47 runs in 21 and 19 balls, respectively, which took the Purani Delhi-6 team to a respectable total of 197.
In the second inning, openers Priyansh Arya and Sarthak Ray took South Delhi off to a flyer as they put on runs at a very faster rate. The openers contributed 57 and 41 runs to the team’s tally, while the skipper at No. 3 played a blistering knock of 57 runs in just 29 deliveries, hitting 4 sixes in an over after a steady start.
Purani Delhi-6 took themselves back with five quick wickets between 12 and 16 overs. However, Panchal and Rathi took Superstarz over the line with five balls to spare. Badoni was declared the Player of the Match for his captain’s innings, the finest among the lot.
Rishabh Pant sights Team India return across all formats
The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman was pre-mentioned by the new head coach Gautam Gambhir as their first-choice wicketkeeper. However, recently in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Pant was not seen as being preferred over KL Rahul.
Pant is also ready to feature next in the Duleep Trophy while eyeing a red ball return for India before India’s Test series against Bangladesh. Pant, who was previously known as India’s best Test player, can be back on the side with fine performances in the DPL as well as the Duleep Trophy.
With Ishan Kishan’s recent stunning hundred in the Buchi Babu tournament, he has added to the selector’s headache and also taken the limelight off Pant. However, the Delhi boy is also giving himself new chances to be in the priorities of another Delhi man, Gautam Gambhir.
