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IPL 2021 | Firebrand Pant-Ruthless Ponting can just be the combo Delhi Capitals always needed

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In the early hours of March 30, the host broadcaster of the Indian Premier League—Star Sports released the promo of the upcoming edition featuring Rishabh Pant in which he is saying ‘purana kyu dekhe, apne experience khud banaenge, ye India ka apna mantra hai’ in Hindi. What Pant said can be translated to ‘why should we look back at the past, we’ll make our own experience, and that is India’s own mantra.’ 

Fittingly for the day and Pant himself, his IPL franchise the Delhi Capitals stamped on his name to be the captain for the upcoming season, replacing an injured Shreyas Iyer. Now his franchise has handed him the perfect opportunity he could have asked for to walk the talk on having his ‘own experience,’ instead of ‘relooking at the past.’

Being named the captain of the side that provided him with the opportunity to what he has now become is almost poetic justice to the turnaround he has brought in his career from the brink of oblivion.

For this, the franchise should also get plaudits as they did not walk away from their idea of playing fire with fire. Since the time Gautam Gambhir opted out of the leadership position and the baton was passed on to Shreyas Iyer in the 2018 edition, the franchise has played with an all-aggressive brand of cricket. Hence, when they were sold down the river by another captaincy riddle, they carried on their tried and test formula of banking on matching fire with fire than attempting to douse it.

Also, going to Pant for captaincy should not have been a big question as he was already the vice-captain of the side. But they would have introspected on how much can they risk on a player who puts so much on the line. Turned out, they put all their weight behind him for the upcoming edition.

Pant is coming to IPL on the back of pulling off things that are the stuff of ridiculousness. He has driven Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on the up at the Gabba, reverse swept James Anderson with the new ball and treated Jofra Archer like some average bowler in T20Is over the last four months post-IPL 2020.

Rishabh Pant: From almost an enigma to audacious match-winner

The big question before the franchise and the coach Ricky Ponting would have been that whether the left-hander has leadership skills to keep the team together for a two-month-long tournament where they will see a lot of ups and downs.

There, Ponting played true to his character and did not hold back with a sensible choice of putting his money on reliable and proven leaders such as Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith. They are doubtful starters for the playing XI, but even with their best, Ponting would have gone for Pant for the sheer brand of cricket that brings to the table for the Capitals.

Ponting’s brand of cricket has rubbed onto the players and thought process of the team. In the last season, when the top order was in mess due to the cautious approach taken by Shikhar Dhawan and the technical frailties of Prithvi Shaw, Ponting opted for a change—but in personnel, not approach. 

Dhawan was nudged to throw caution into winds and Shaw was dropped for a belligerent Marcus Stoinis and the duo started dazzling to put Capitals on track for the path of playoffs.

Great T20 teams such as the current England team in the leadership of Eoin Morgan and the Mumbai Indians in the command of Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardena have decoded the ‘mantra’ of prolonged success in the shortest format. 

Ponting, too, is made up of the same mettle since his playing days and has led a turnaround off the Capitals off the field in the last few seasons.

However, one missing jigsaw puzzle of Capitals has been the temperament of players on the big stage of playoffs. The players, however successful they were in the league stages of the tournament have not arrived with the same mindset and approach in the business stage of the tournament and the team has suffered great embarrassments in the playoffs of IPL.

Last year too, they were blown away by the Mumbai Indians on two occasions in the playoffs as the batting collapsed like the house of cards in the first Qualifier. The situation was not different at the top in the big final before Pant, in the company of Iyer, showed signs of ownership on the big state to put them back in the reckoning.

Now, both Ponting and Pant are on the same page and both of them have an established quality of not bothering about the outcome of their intent and take the challenge head-on, irrespective of what is at stake. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility. The coaching group is excited to work with him, and we can’t wait for the season to get started,” Ponting said in the statement released by the franchise.

Statistically, Pant has had excellent times in series deciders coming into the IPL 2021 and Ponting will do anything but curb his mindset before and during the tournament.

Maybe, the Capitals have found the perfect combination to unlock the full potential of their side before embarking on their 14th journey for an elusive maiden IPL title.

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WI vs SL | 2nd Test Day 2: Thirimanne's fifty keeps Lanka in game after Brathwaite's marathon ton

A fighting half-century from Lahiru Thirimanne kept Sri Lanka in the game on the second day of the Test after West Indies skipper Kraig Brathwaite led Windies’ batting efforts in the first innings with a marathon century. Brathwaite was the last man dismissed for the hosts at the score of 126. Replying to hosts’ fighting total of 354, Sri Lanka were jolted early on courtesy a one-handed catch by Nkrumah Bonner in the gully to send Dimuth Karunaratne back to the pavilion. The Sri Lankan skipper has been poor with the bat in the series and once again was guilty of playing so far away from his body and Alazarri Joseph tasted early success for the hosts. The next man in Oshado Fernando was tentative at the crease and after scoring streaky boundaries and surviving a close call by umpire’s call, he was found wanting against Kyle Mayers. At the other end of the pitch, Thirimanne was batting with a sublime touch and pulled out drives whenever Windies’ bowlers tried to tempt into driving. He took the bait but was better than the bowlers would have hoped and Sri Lanka’s innings were underway although wickets were falling. However, as soon as he brought up yet another milestone in the series, Thirimanne was castled by Kemar Roach to leave the coach Mickey Arthur anguished. The game could have gone away from Sri Lanka after the fall of Thirimanne but Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva got their acts together and stitched an unbeaten partnership to end the day with the game hanging in balance. Earlier at the start of the day, Windies skipper Brathwaite, who was unbeaten on 99 reached an elusive hundred after a long gap of three years. He had last scored a Test century in 2018 and this century will serve him well as he has embarked on the journey as the leader of the pack. At the other end, his unbeaten partner on the first day Rakheem Cornwall started from where he left on the last day and helped Windies go past the 33 run-mark quite seamlessly. The right-hander also reached his own fifty in the first session of the day to set things up for Windies. Brimming with confidence and having spent enough time in the middle, Cornwall started to take the game to bowlers after a relatively quiet morning with the bat. However, he perished in the pursuit of dominance as Lakmal came back to claim his fourth wicket. Kemar Roach survived for a long time at the crease and allowed Brathwaite to cash in on tiring Sri Lankan bowlers before Chameera came back to remove both him and the well-set Kraigg Brathwaite. Sri Lanka will be hopeful of a solid partnership between Chandimal and de Silva on the third day of the second Test if they have to get to a position of strength or close to Windies’ first innings total.

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IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant to captain Delhi Capitals this IPL season

In a bid to win their maiden IPL trophy, Delhi Capitals have named Rishabh Pant as their captain for the upcoming edition after their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament owing to a shoulder injury which he sustained during the recently concluded India-England series. It was in the first ODI that Iyer dislocated his shoulder. The 23-year-old will be captaining in the IPL for the first time. The wicket-keeper batsman has earlier led his state side Delhi. He was the captain of Delhi during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2017. "Rishabh Pant will be our Captain for #IPL2021. @ShreyasIyer15 has been ruled out of the upcoming season following his injury in the #INDvENG series," Delhi Capitals tweeted. Rishabh Pant feels humbled after getting the opportunity to lead the Delhi Capitals. "Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I've always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled. I am truly grateful, especially to our team owners, who considered me capable enough for this role. "With an amazing coaching staff, and a plethora of accomplished seniors around me, I can't wait to give my absolute best for Delhi Capitals," Rishabh Pant quipped after getting named as the DC skipper. Chairman of the Delhi Capitals and also their co-owner Mr Kiran Kumar Gandhi wished Shreyas Iyer a speedy recovery. “I would like to wish Shreyas a speedy recovery,” said Kiran Kumar Grandhi. “Under Shreyas’ captaincy, our team reached newer heights, and he is going to be missed immensely. In his absence, the franchise has collectively picked Rishabh to lead the team this year. While it has come under unfortunate circumstances, it is a tremendous opportunity for him to grow further. I wish him all the best in his new role.” “There is no doubt that Shreyas Iyer’s leadership and batting will be missed this year, and we hope to see him back on the field soon,” said team co-owner Mr Parth Jindal, “Delhi Capitals as a team plays a passionate and fearless brand of cricket, and Rishabh Pant embodies that best. The Delhi team has played an important role in his growth as a cricketer, just like he has played an equally important role in the growth of the Delhi team. I wish Rishabh and the team good luck.” Iyer will undergo shoulder surgery on 8th April and will atleast take 5 months to completely recover. In 2020, Iyer led the Delhi Capitals to their first IPL final only to lose to the Mumbai Indians in the final. Iyer said that he had no doubt in his mind that Pant will be the ideal man for the job. “When I sustained the shoulder injury, and Delhi Capitals needed a leader for this edition of the IPL, I had no doubt that Rishabh would be the best man for the job. "He has all my good wishes to make amazing things happen with our absolutely incredible team. I’m going to miss the team tremendously, and will be cheering for them throughout," Iyer said.