Rishabh Pant was in superb form on Sunday night as he took the Chennai Super Kings bowlers to the cleaners with a brilliant knock. Pant scored 51 off just 32 balls with the help of 4 fours and 3 sixes in Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2024 match against CSK in Visakhapatnam point. It also happens to be Pant’s first fifty-match match in competitive cricket since his return from a horrific car accident in December 2022. Pant returned to competitive cricket in IPL 2024 but he failed to spread his magic with the bat in the first two games. However, Pant’s fortunes changed in the third innings.

That iconic one-handed six is ​​back #DCvCSK #JioCinemaSports #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/N01gOlTLRM

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Comeback player Pant’s opening duo of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw in Sunday’s IPL match Prithvi Shaw announced his arrival with a brilliant 50 as Delhi Capitals posted a score of 191 for 5 against the Chennai Super Kings.

Warner and Shaw opted to bat and posted an opening score of 93, but the highlight of the day was Pant’s sensational knock which gave them the final push.

Pant came into the tournament in December 2022 after recovering from a life-threatening road accident and scored his first fifty in 15 months.

The in-form Warner hit 5 boundaries and 3 maximums in his 35-ball 52 for his 110th T20 fifty, equaling Chris Gayle’s Record for most 50 runs scored in a T20 match.

In the first game of the season, Shaw failed to capitalize on his immense talent and he once again reminded everyone of his boundary batting skills as he hit two sixes and four boundaries in his 27-ball 43.

However, pacer Matheesha Pathirana pulled off a brilliant catch to remove Warner and then came back to score three goals to pull CSK back into the game.

But Pant was brilliant in the first two innings, initially biding his time and then explosively taking his total close to 200.

Mitchell Marsh also hit two fours and a six in his 12-ball 18 cameo.

Earlier, while Tushar Deshpande made good use of his variant and bowled just eight runs in the first two overs, Deepak Chahar ) pitched three innings on the power play, only to be crowded out by the opener in Washington, D.C.

Mainly Warner gave special treatment to Chahal, putting him in the leg-side stand twice and punishing him for bowling onto the pads.

He was particularly harsh on Chahar in the 5th over, hitting two fours in the offside after the second 6 overs, amassing 18 runs in the over, while DC 42 points were scored in the round.

In the last over of the bowling before the powerplay, which also saw Mustafizur Rahman dismissed, Shaw hit three consecutive fours as DC posted their highest powerplay score of 62-0 in this IPL.

Next, Ravindra Jadeja was greeted by a six off Shaw before Warner pulled one over square leg behind for a 13-run boundary.

Pathirana bowled an excellent first ball and consistently scored over 145 with his stone-striking action.

However, Warner hit Jadeja at length before completing his 50 off 32 balls.

Mustafizul drew first blood as the Sri Lankan took a brilliant catch out of nowhere, surprising Warner, thanks to a brilliant performance from Patialana.

Shaw scored six more to take DC past the 100-run mark, but Jadeja took advantage by dismissing him off the next ball and MS Dhoni did the rest with his 300th dismissals – the highest by a wicketkeeper in T20s.

As the two opening games came to an end, captain Pant also struggled and his scoring rate also dropped.

Patialana then put on a show, uprooting Marsh’s mid-stump and then disturbing Tristan Stubbs’ wood in the space of three balls to finish at 134 for 4 in 15 overs separated from DC.

Pant then stepped up and plundered a four and a six off Mustafizur before launching an attack on Patialana, hitting him for a six and two fours in the 19th over before Deep into the hole.

(with PTI input)