RUSTY RETURN
Pant back after 14-month absence but Capitals lose to Kings
Mullanpur, India - Rishabh Pant made his return from a 14-month absence but Delhi Capitals were defeated by Punjab Kings in their first match in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
Capitals scored 174-9 in their 20 overs with Shai Hope topscoring with 33 runs.
In response, England allrounder Sam Curran scored 63 runs for Kings to seal the victory.
Pant scored 18 runs for the Capitals in his first game since being in a serious car accident in December 2022.
"Personally, I was pretty nervous, but you have to go through this when you enter the field," Pant told the official broadcast after the game. "But this isn't the first time you're feeling nervous. Happy about [returning to the game] but at the same time, I think we had a par score but because we were one bowler short, because of Ishant's injury, but can't do much about it."
Curran played alongside England colleagues Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow for the Kings.
"I thought we did a lot well actually. Our spinners dragged it back really well and the seamers.
We adapted really to the conditions, the pitch got better as the lights came on. A really good start," said Livingstone.
Much of the story for the Capitals was their inability to turn good starts into big scores. Australia openers David
Warner (29) and Mitchell Marsh (20) both showed some promise, with Hope's 33 the best for Capitals.
Wicketkeeper Pant's return saw him bat fourth for Capitals. It was a slow start for the 26year-old Capitals captain - who
had suffered head, back and leg injuries in the accident - but he did go on to make 18 runs off 13 deliveries before being caught off the bowling of Harshal Patel.
Capitals lost wickets in the middle order quickly and fell from 111-4 to 147-8 at the back end of their innings but a 32-run cameo from impact substitute Abishek Porel, including 25 runs in the final over, set the Kings 175 to chase.
In response, Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan managed 22 runs before being bowled by the experienced Ishant Sharma. Fellow opener Bairstow fell for nine off three balls, being run out at the non-striker end by Ishant after getting a finger to the ball on his follow through.
The Kings regrouped after losing both openers in the fourth over to fall to 42-2. Prabhsimran Singh hit five fours in a quickfire 26.