NEW DELHI: Succumbing to a heavy 67-run defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, Delhi Capitals skipper
Rishabh Pant
on Saturday conceded his side was literally doing catchup after
Travis Head
and
Abhishek Sharma
's record-shattering powerplay exhibition.
As Sunrisers Hyderabad smashed 125 runs in the first six overs to create an IPL record, it helped the visitors to a towering 266 for 7 -- their fourth 250-plus total of the season.
After getting ripped apart with the ball, Pant and co. did give a fight with the bat in the mammoth chase but eventually finished at 199 all out.
Soon after the disappointing loss, legendary
Sunil Gavaskar
consoled Pant, asking him to never put his head down.
"I never want your head down, there are lots of games so keep a smile always," Gavaskar told Pant during the post-match presentation.
The DC captain was visibly moved by Gavaskar's supportive words and responded, "I will try my best, sir".
Head (89, 32 balls) and Abhishek (46, 12 balls) took power play to a different level, erasing the previous record of 105/0 by KKR against RCB in 2017.
"I think power play was the difference. We were just catching up throughout the match. That was the massive difference. Hopefully, we will come back with more thought process and clear mindset," said Pant, whose 'homecoming' was spoilt by Head and Sharma's 131-run partnership.
The DC skipper also said he probably misjudged the dew factor at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and decided to bowl first after winning the toss.
"The only thought process behind that (deciding to bowl first) was we thought there would be some dew but it didn't come. I thought if we could restrict them to 220-230, we would be in with a chance."
SRH bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar got just one wicket but his restrictive spell in the high-scoring match -- 33 runs in 4 overs -- played a vital role in the easy win.
"Feeling good. Not among the wickets but the way I want to execute it is happening. Just a matter of time," said the pace-bowling stalwart.
"When defending those many runs, you either go for plenty or you get wickets. We accepted that we'll go for plenty of runs when defending those many runs, but the plan was to keep executing," he added.
Bhuvneshwar praised his fellow pacer T Natarajan's bowling, who was twice on a hat-trick in a single over and ended up with superb figures of 4/19 in four overs
"Amazing. We know how good he is at yorkers. He keeps working hard, silent guy, goes unnoticed a lot. We know how important he is for Sunrisers," said Bhuvneshwar, adding that he is happy that SRH batting is finally clicking after several years.
"For so many years, this is the first time our batting is clicking so much. As a bowling unit, happy to take the back seat. They (batters) are ruining us... when we defend 180 or so, it'll feel like less," he said.
Bhuvneshwar added both Head and Abhishek bat in the same manner at nets.
"Yes, same, especially Head and Abhishek, playing the same way. Batters sometimes play opposite (manner) in the nets, but they play the same way."
The pacer indicated that bowlers don't get their due despite all the hard work but, in the end, they win championships for teams.
"Bowling is something... somebody says batting wins your sponsorship, but bowling wins you championship. The way we are bowling right now looks bad on the scorecard but it is pretty good for us," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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