6, 4, 6, 6, 6: On-song Rishabh Pant speed dials Mohit Sharma as GT pacer bags unwanted IPL record vs DC

9 days ago | 14 Views

Strengthening his selection case for the ICC T20 World Cup in his comeback season of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant showcased his batting pyrotechnics against former champions Gujarat Titans. The Delhi Capitals launched an all-out attack on veteran pacer Mohit Sharma in the final over of the DC innings on matchday 40 of the IPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Pant's batting masterclass paved the way for Mohit to bag an unwanted record in the IPL. Batting on 58 off 37 balls in the final over, Pant almost started the over with a boundary as Sai Kishore's diving effort restricted the DC skipper to two runs. Already under pressure, pacer Mohit bowled the next ball a wide. In the next five deliveries, Pant plundered 28 runs for the hosts. Unleashing mayhem in the final over, Pant smashed three sixes and a four off Mohit to make sure the GT pacer leaked 31 runs.

GT's Mohit Sharma bags unwanted IPL record

Entering his name into the history books for all the wrong reasons, Mohit was hammered for 73 runs in his four overs. The death-over specialist even failed to take a single wicket against the free-scoring Delhi Capitals. Mohit has returned the most expensive bowling spell in the history of IPL. Pacer Mohit has beaten Basil Thampi's unwanted feat. Thampi leaked 70 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the IPL 2018.

Pant fires DC to 224-4 vs GT

Talking more about Pant's batting exploits, the DC skipper enjoyed the third-highest century partnership (113) against GT in the IPL. While Axar smashed 66 off 43 balls, on-song Pant remained unbeaten on 88 off just 43 deliveries. His captain's knock powered DC to 224-4 in 20 overs. Pant also recorded his 19th 50-plus score for DC in the cash-rich league. Only David Warner (24) has registered more 50-plus scores than Pant for DC in the IPL.

Axar lauds Pant's phenomenal effort

"I think it's a phenomenal effort. They're fantastic finishers (on Pant and Stubbs); that's what we talked about when we were in the middle. My role was to take on the three spinners. The talk was that we should take the partnership as deep as possible, the ball wasn't coming onto the bat, was a slow pitch," Axar said during the innings break.