AHMEDABAD: When Delhi Capitals captain
Rishabh Pant
returned to cricket after a life-threatening car crash in Dec 2022, it was a moment to cherish. Now
Pant
is giving his fans more reasons to celebrate with his performances in the IPL.
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The dynamic cricketer has handled his triple role as captain, batter and wicketkeeper with aplomb, a fact which was seconded by
James Hopes
, DC's fielding coach.
Reflecting on his performance against Gujarat Titans, a game in which he effected four dismissals (two catches and two stumpings), Hopes said, "Pant's keeping is very good. Last year, we tried really hard to cover that gap. But it's hard to cover a world-class keeper. Now he is back."
Pant has effected 11 dismissals (eight catches and three stumpings) so far.
"Everything about his game, his keeping, his captaincy is becoming very sharp. His batting has been very good from the start. He is rounding in on some pretty good form in the back half of the tournament and he is leading really well," Hopes said.
Pant is also the leading run-getter for Capitals, having tallied 210 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 156.71 with two half-centuries.
The Capitals put up a superb effort in the field - incisive bowling backed up by sharp fielding - to skittle out the Titans for 89 in 17.3 overs on Wednesday.
Talking about the fielding effort, the former Australian allrounder said, "The guys work hard on the fielding. I've been disappointed for them that they have not put it together on the field. They actually work very hard at it, away from the cameras."