Lucknow Super Giants bought Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crore in the mega auction, making him the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League. However, his performance in the first game of the season against Delhi Capitals was below par.
He had the stage set for him to take the team’s score above 240, but the southpaw played a reckless shot to gift his wicket to Kuldeep Yadav. The most surprising part was his mistake of not trying to take a single in the six balls he faced.
There were plenty of gaps available on the field, but the LSG skipper was not interested. Former India player Aakash Chopra questioned the strategy adopted by one of the experienced players.
LSG amassed 209/8 despite sensational hitting by Nicholas Pooran (75 of 30) and Mitchell Marsh (72 of 36). Chasing 210 runs, DC were in all sorts of trouble from the start, but Ashutosh Sharam (66* off 31) and Vipraj Nigam (31 off 15) took the team home in 19.3 overs with one wicket left.
Aakash was blunt in his verdict. “Rishabh Pant didn’t try to take singles in 6 balls he faced. His ego took over, and he would think about it when the discussion about the match happens. He could have easily taken the score deep,” Akash Chopra said on Star Sports.
Leave a Reply