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IPL 2021 Preview: Doused in criticism about captaincy, Pant seeks to fly like Morgan

Somya Kapoor

Bhuvan (Amir Khan) in the film Lagaan swings the bat with full force, the ball is in the air and is eventually caught by Captain Russell but behind the boundary line. Bhuvan wins it after notching up a six on the last ball and helps his village to get exemption from paying taxes to the British Government. 

That’s kind of how it works when you are watching a Bollywood movie. 

The underdog always wins.

But it isn’t that easy in real life, especially in the Indian Premier League when you are up against some quality bowlers. 

On Tuesday, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant was in a similar situation. He needed 10 runs off the last two balls against RCB to take his team over the line in Ahmedabad. 

A situation tailor made for a Bollywood thriller.

He did get a boundary on the penultimate ball and needed a maximum on the last one but failed to hit it over the boundary line. DC lost by 1 run. 

Pant and his batting partner Shimron Hetmyer were despondent. Let us take you a little back as to what happened in this particular game. 

Chasing 172, DC were 92/4 in the 13th over when Hetmyer unleashed an onslaught against the RCB bowlers. He scored an unbeaten 53 off 25 while Pant remained not out on 58 off 48 but the youngsters failed to complete the task for their team.

The two batsmen were consoled by the RCB team but they knew that just gave it away on what could have been one of the finest chases in the history of IPL. 

But as they say this game is cruel and it plays the balancing act with accuracy. Not so long ago, Pant had unfolded the kind of mettle he possessed.  

Some four-five months back, the Indian team was in Australia for the four-match Test series. We were initially trailing, were without our regular skipper, were racially abused and the players suffered bruises on their bodies. It was probably the toughest time that the Indian team had faced. 

But there were few young lads who were up for this battle on the cricket field and two of them were Pant and Shubman Gill. While Gill was unmoved by the bouncy tracks and some serious pace in Australia, Pant was in some different mood all this while. 

After almost getting written off prior to this series, the left-handed batsman was out there in the middle to prove that he belonged. 

His responsible partnerships with Cheteshwar Pujara and the carnage he had caused showed that the criticism had certainly paid off. Well, riding on some brilliant performances from the young brigade, the Indian unit completed a successful tour Down Under and won the Test series 2-1. 

A couple of months later, Pant was handed over DC’s captaincy after skipper Shreyas Iyer ruled out of the cash-rich league. 

But this added responsibility has certainly pushed Rishabh on the backfoot as far as his batting is concerned. DC are placed at number three in the points table with four wins and just two defeats in the six matches that they have played but Pant hasn’t been firing yet especially in the way that he does while his captaincy has also come under scrutiny. 

The wicket-keeper batsman though has been among some runs in the past couple of matches but a knock of his calibre still awaits. 

Coming to Kolkata Knight Riders, the Eoin Morgan-led side defeated Punjab Kings in their last encounter in Ahmedabad after facing some early hiccups during the chase of 124 runs. But captain Morgan and Rahul Tripathi steadied the ship for the side and took them to a win by 5 wickets. 

Delhi can capitalise

The Delhi Capitals are probably one of the most balanced sides in the tournament. With experienced players like Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra and now back in the scheme of selections Ishant Sharma, the Delhi franchise is not really in a spot of bother despite a defeat in the last game. 

Apart from this the young bunch of cricketers including captain Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Kagiso Rabada, Hetmyer and Avesh Khan are always up for the task. The addition of Ishant and Axar Patel in the bowling department. 

The left-arm spinner produced some magical spell during the Test series against England in Ahmedabad earlier this year and would be looking to replicate that. 

A couple of things that they need to focus on for now is Pant’s batting and Marcus Stoinis’ form. DC are in definite need of their captain’s blazing knock as soon as possible because this would help the aggressive batsman get in the groove himself. 

He has scored runs in the two matches but only needs to be confident about his abilities and back that special hand-eye coordination that he has. 

Stoinis might not be in very good form but he has the ability to deliver with both bat and ball and needs to be persisted in the side for now. 

Nevertheless, the Capitals look pretty stable with their side at the moment and they certainly don’t need any changes in the XI for now. 

KKR’s batting woes

Kolkata Knight Riders might have won the match against Punjab Kings but the early hiccups in the chase were a sign of how Morgan’s side needs to put the right pieces in the puzzle. 

Either their top order has failed to fire or if the youngsters have chipped in, the experienced batsmen in the middle order like Andre Russell, Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Shakib Al Hasan have failed to capitalise barring some instances. 

Opener Nitish Rana started off the season on a good note but has lost the touch in between while his opening partner Shubman Gill has been struggling to get any form. The two for sure have the capability to give KKR a positive start consistently. 

Rahul Tripathi has been in a decent touch. He in fact played a crucial knock in the last match against the Punjab team and stitched a responsible stand with captain Morgan to get his side out of trouble from a tricky situation. 

The bowling unit is back in some good knick. Youngsters like Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna have been impressive while Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy also produced some good spells of bowling in the last outing. 

Kolkata surely need their batting order to go into and huddle and discuss about the roles of the players while they are out in the middle. As far as bowling is concerned, Morgan can go ahead with the same lot for now. 

Match Details

Match: DC vs KKR, 25th Match, Indian Premier League 2021

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Pitch and Toss

On Tuesday, RCB captain Virat Kohli did talk about the dew factor in Ahmedabad and said that both him and Pant thought there would be some amount of it. But before the start of DC’s chase, there was an occurrence of a sandstorm which might have nullified the presence of the dew. 

Nevertheless, DC and KKR can expect some dew when they go head to head against each other on Thursday. 

Coming to the pitch, there have been two totally contrasting matches. One saw a few runs scored around the park while the other witnessed almost a drought.

The track at the Narendra Modi Stadium can possibly help the spinners but the dew factor can help the chasing team take the upper hand. If you win the toss, bowl first. 

Team News

Delhi Capitals

Shimron Hetmyer got some form back during the game against RCB while Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel exceedingly well after being drafted back into the side. Axar’s impressive spell against England in the Test series is still fresh and he too would be looking to be among the wickets asap.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Captain Eoin Morgan took charge of the situation when his team was in a spot of bother against Punjab Kings and led them to victory eventually. The bowling attack has been in good shape and can trouble the opposition on their day. 

Probable XI

DC 

Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Steven Smith, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan

KKR

Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Fantasy XI 

Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Prithvi Shaw, Andre Russell (C), Axar Patel, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Sunil Narine (VC)





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