NEW DELHI:
Pravin Amre
, the batting coach for the Delhi Capitals, believes that the daring
Rishabh Pant
has demonstrated with his brilliant performance against the Gujarat Titans that he is ready to go off in the forthcoming
T20 World Cup
.
After recovering from multiple injuries sustained in a horrific car accident in December 2022, Pant returned to competitive cricket one month later.
On Wednesday, he virtually guaranteed his place as India's first-choice wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls in DC's four-run victory over GT in an IPL match.
After DC was down 44/3 in their crucial match, Skipper Pant and
Axar Patel
(66 off 43) put up a quick 113-run stand off 68 balls to propel DC to 224/4.
"He (Pant) started with a two-week camp in Vizag, he came there, he prepared himself very well. I remember when he came for the Vizag camp, he came straight to the ground from the airport.
"He was hungry and made sure every day he is going to utilise. It is all about his hard work, which is paying him," Amre said at the post-match press conference.
"And obviously a couple of good knocks gave him the confidence and today we saw a special knock. Finishing was important, and we saw how Rishabh single-handedly got 31 runs against an experienced bowler (
Mohit Sharma
), and that really says that he is in good form."
Amre also gave Axar credit for seizing the chance after moving up to the No. 3 position.
"If you remember last year he (Axar) was the one who was striking well and this season, he batted in the last 4-5 overs, so it wasn't fair. So the whole idea was to give some chance.
"Axar played very well, but the partnership he had with Rishabh was striking. We were also struggling, like 46 odd runs we got in the powerplay with three wickets down.
"Axar has shown and that (partnership) was the reason that we got 96 runs in the last 5 overs," he said.
Talking about the match, Amre said Pant's power-hitting in the last five overs made the difference.
"In the first half it never looked like we could get 180 but from there (44/3 in 5.4 overs), we managed to score that 20 runs extra. Ultimately, they came very close but in this format, even a one-run win is a victory for us.
"Our target was 180, but Rishabh was confident and he single-handedly batted very well in the last 5 overs. Mohit is an experienced bowler and to get 31 runs off the last over made the impact," he said.
The collaboration between Pant and Axar ultimately proved to be the difference maker, as GT spinner
Sai Kishore
concurred.
"Axar and Pant batted really well. Rishabh scored a lot of boundaries off good balls, not necessarily sixes, but fours as well.
"That got them the momentum and in the last 2 to 3 overs, we conceded more sixes than fours and that resulted in the game going out of hands," Kishore said.
(With PTI inputs)
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