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[Watch] Right-Arm Wrist Spinner Rishabh Pant Auditions For Gambhir's India In DPL 2024 Opener

Rishab Pant Rolled his arms over in the first match of the DPL 2024 [X]Rishab Pant Rolled his arms over in the first match of the DPL 2024 [X]

Purani Delhi-6 took on the South Delhi Superstarz on the opening match of the inaugural edition of the Delhi Premier League (DPL). The match took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on August 17. 

In a match that went down to the wire, Rishabh Pant's Purani Delhi-6 lost the game by three wickets. They were put to bat first after Ayush Badoni, the skipper of the South Delhi Superstarz won the toss. 

The balance of the match shifted throughout the game

The batting effort of Purani Delhi-6 was led by Arpit Rana. He scored a solid 59 off 41 deliveries and stitched a partnership of 80 runs with captain Rishabh Pant (35 off 32) to set a strong foundation for his team. Lalit Yadav and Vansh Bedi later capitalised on the platform they had and launched an assault on the Supestarz bowlers to take the team's total to a formidable 197/3 in 20 overs. 

Led by the top three, the South Delhi Superstarz got off to a powerful start in their chase. However, Purani Delhi bowlers made a comeback in the game in the middle overs. But Vision Panchal's six of the last delivery of the 19th over meant that they needed just one run to win off the last over. 

Significance of Pant's bowling attempt

It was at this stage, the spectators were treated a pleasant surprise. The skipper of the Purani Delhi-6, Rishabh Pant took up the bowling responsibilities for the final over. Mostly seen as a wicket-keeper, Pant was seen bowling wrist spin. Although, the match was over off the first delivery of his over, this attempt of Pant seems significant in a broader spectrum.

Since, Gautam Gambhir has taken up the role of Indian Head Coach, all-rounders like Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube have been given more backing. We have also seen designated batters like Rinku Singh, Suryakumar Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal rolling the arm over. The message is clear that you have to develop all-round skills to be a part of the current Indian team. With KL Rahul being focused as the main wicket-keeper batter for India, this attempt from Pant at bowling might be a message by the player that he is ready to be a batting all-rounder if the team needs it.