Home
Cricket News
Ipl 2021 Match Up Between Master And His Apprentice Rishabh Pant Excited To Lead Dc

IPL 2021: Match-up between Master and his apprentice, Rishabh Pant excited to lead DC

It will be a big moment for Rishabh Pant when he walks out for the coin toss in the 2nd match of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) along with his idol Mahendra Singh Dhoni. What a sensational match-up this is going to be between the Master and his apprentice. Ever since coming into the foray of Indian selection, MS Dhoni has taken good care of Pant. Starting his career as a pocket-sized dynamite and then getting subjected to social media trolls, MS Dhoni has played a big part in the nourishment of Rishabh Pant. He is currently in the form of his life and getting the captaincy of Delhi Capitals is just the icing on the cake.

Following an unfortunate shoulder injury to regular DC skipper Shreyas Iyer, DC named Pant as the captain for the 14th season and there is no better way to start your captaincy campaign against your idol. Pant said that it will be a special moment for him to lead an IPL team for the first time against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

"It will be extra special to walk out for the toss with MS Dhoni. This will be the first time that I will be leading an IPL team and the first match is against Mahi bhai,” Pant said in the lead-up to the CSK-DC clash slated to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Pant who has grown as a cricketer under the guidance of Dhoni said that he will try and use the learnings from Dhoni in the 2nd match of Vivo IPL 14.

“I have learned a lot from him, and I have gained a lot of experience from him. Hopefully, I can use this experience against him, and we can win this match. That's what I am looking forward to," he said.

Delhi Capitals is yet to win an IPL trophy till date. However, in the last two years, DC has been the best version of themselves. They are a team with a perfect blend of youth and experience and having senior campaigners like Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Steve Smith will keep Pant in a good frame of mind going into his first match as an IPL captain.

"I have been talking to the senior players like Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane about the fields we can set and other strategic decisions for the team. I have been talking to Ricky and our Bowling Coach James Hopes as well. There's a good mix of seniors and juniors in our squad and I think with the help of Ricky, we can do something different this year," Pant added.

Discover more

IPL 2021 | RR vs PBKS: Low-key in profile but high on ambition, another battle of wicket-keeper captains await

They might not be as chirpy as a Rishabh Pant or famous and cool as MS Dhoni, but the captains of Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings have an aura of themselves. Much like their team profiles, they are also lowkey but have high ambitions. While Sanju Samson is looking to get into the Indian team, KL Rahul on the other hand also had a very bad England series as far as T20Is are concerned and would look to utilise this IPL as a place to cement his name in the Indian T20 set up before the World Cup. Missing Archer shouldn't be an excuse for Rajasthan The best thing about the Rajasthan Royals over the year has been them not being a favourite before any season. While them being eternal underdogs might make them a sneak into the Playoffs, but that hasn’t happened ever since 2018. In fact, in the last two seasons, the team has finished bottom two. Given the fact that they missed their stars in both the seasons, they must now be attuned to it as they are going to miss one of their biggest stars, Jofra Archer this season as well. Archer was the MVP last year and this fact is enough to guess why his absence would be a great blow. But what is a hero if he doesn’t rise from adversities to get to the top of life? This is exactly what is required of the Royals. With a new coach and new captain in Kumara Sangakkara and Samson, the Jaipur team would want the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, David Miller along with the most expensive buy this season, Chris Morris to ‘halla bol’ on their oppositions, and what better than the Punjabis to start with. All ingredients assembled, Punjabis ready to serve a spicy curry Punjabis are known for their heavy-duty approach. They are loud, they are entertaining and most importantly they are perfect in pulling a rabbit out of their hat when needed the most. Sadly though, the team from Punjab has been a complete contrast of all those traits since the past six seasons. The last season was somewhat better as they missed the cut to Playoffs by just a few inches. Now, they have what they badly needed- an aggressive top-order batter in the form of number one T20I batsman Dawid Malan and a super quick, hit the deck bowler in Australian Riley Meredith. Along with those players they have got Shahrukh Khan, a big-hitting late order batsman to give the finish alongside Nicholas Pooran. So Punjab has the players it takes to go bonkers this season, the question remains- Will they be able to? Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings: Match Details Match Number-04 Date and Time: April 12, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 PM GMT Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Broadcast and Live Stream; Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Mumbai as evident from the first game played between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals is a run-heavy wicket. Even 200 is not safe, but as a bowling side in the first innings, the team has chances to create some difficulties for the batting side in the wee hours of the match, utilising the sea breeze and non-dew conditions to get a swing. Weather and Toss The dew has been heavy at Wankhede. Conditions have been a bit humid as well, but not as much as expected from Mumbai. The temperature is going to be relatively low and would deep below 30 as the night progresses. The team winning the toss would go for a field first approach as MS Dhoni also said that the first half an hour is the only team that bowlers might get some help on that bounce friendly red soil wicket. Team News Rajasthan Royals Since David Miller wouldn’t be available for the first game and Jofra isn’t available either, the management has an easy choice to pick the best four foreign players. They would most probably go with Buttler, Stokes, Morris and Andrew Tye. Mustafizur Rahman could have been an option, but he would most likely not be available due to the quarantine period as well. Liam Livingstone could be a favourable choice as well given his recent form. It would be a tough call between Livingstone and Tye. Strongest XI Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Ryan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaidev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi Punjab Kings The Punjab team has all their players available and they would like to go with Malan, Meredith, Pooran and Jhye Richardson to start with. As far as the Indian players are concerned, Shahrukh Khan looks like a certainty in the XI. Strongest XI KL Rahul(c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin Dream XI predictions / Fantasy XI suggestions Jos Buttler (c), Sanju Smason, Lokesh Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan(vc), Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes, Ravi Bishnoi, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith

IPL 2021 | Harbhajan Singh makes debut as Knight Rider in SRH vs KKR contest

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has played in the IPL for different franchises such as the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, will make his debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad tonight. Harbhajan has been handed his Knight Rider cap by the skipper Eoin Morgan and he will rely on him to bring all his experience of playing in the league since its inauguration in 2008. Harbhajan Singh was bought by the Knight Riders in the auction held earlier this year. He was picked at his base price of Rs 2 crore after the Super Kings had released him before the auction. The entry to Knight Riders camp and the game against the Sunrisers will be a comeback for the experienced off-spinner as he had pulled out of the last season of the league held in the UAE citing family issues. He has played 160 matches across 12 seasons of the IPL and has taken 150 wickets with an average of 26.44 runs per wicket and an economy rate of 7.05 runs per over. His last season with the CSK in 2019 was fruitful as he picked 16 wickets at 19.5 apiece and an economy rate of 7.09 runs per over.

SRH vs KKR: Can Lockie Ferguson play alongside Cummins? Eoin Morgan faces tough selection calls

As the Kolkata Knight Riders are starting their IPL 2021 campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, skipper Eoin Morgan has a tough call to take on the composition of the bowling attack. They have magnificent options in terms of express fast bowlers who can provide the cutting edge advantage to the bowling line up against a very solid looking Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line up. Their big purchase Pat Cummins is all set to play in the opening encounter, while there will be a temptation in the leadership group to also include Lockie Ferguson who proved his credentials in the last seasons of the league. Interestingly, he had made his debut for the Knight Riders last year in the contest against the Sunrisers only and produced a match-winning performance with the ball. In the main game, he picked up three big wickets of Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg and Manish Pandey to leave the Sunrisers in tatters chasing a modest target of 164. Then, he took just three balls in the super over to dismiss both David Warner and Abdul Samad to wipe Sunrises completely out of the contest. Going into their first game of the season, will Eoin Morgan show the appetite for risk and play an explosive bowling attack with both Cummins and Ferguson in it? However, opting for Ferguson will tie in hands into picking only one among the trio of Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell. Leaving any of them will jeopardise the overall balance of the team, more so in the case of excluding Shakib Al Hasan or Russell.

Jofra Archer's absence a 'big blow' for us: Kumar Sangakkara

Rajasthan Royals pacer Jofra Archer will be missing at least four matches for the franchise after undergoing a finger surgery. The RR Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has admitted that it’s a huge blow for the team but he is confident that the Indians bowlers would fill in the void for the seamer. "Sanju and I will both agree that it's a big blow for us. Jofra is a very vital part of our make-up and not to have him is unfortunately the reality of it. We have to work around it and plan contingencies," Sangakkara told PTI during a virtual press conference on Sunday. Sangakkara further suggested that fast bowling isn’t an easy task and the tracks have been helpful for the batsmen so far. "Inexperience can probably work for you and it could mean that opposition hasn't seen you either. Fast bowling in IPL is not an easy task and we saw that yesterday (Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings) as well," Sangakkara said. "Most of the wickets are good for batting. So, you have to be quite skilful. We have Kartik Tyagi, who did pretty well last season in patches and this year we have new additions (pacer) Kuldeep Yadav (Jr) and Chetan Sakariya," he added. RR will begin the IPL 2021 quest against Punjab Kings on Monday in Chennai. The Royals have been crowned the IPL champions only once in the inaugural edition of the tournament after they defeated CSK in the final under Shane Warne’s captaincy and would be looking for some fruitful results in this season.