Published: May 06, 2017, 05:54 PM (IST)
Edited: May 06, 2017, 05:54 PM (IST)
There have been many instances of sportsmanship gesture in cricket and one more was added on the list, during the 42nd match of 10th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) between Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Gujarat Lions (GL). While chasing a good total of 209, DD’s foundation of successful chase was laid by 19-year-old Rishabh Pant. He scored a brilliant knock of 97 off just 43 balls, which even the legend Sachin Tendulkar applauded and termed it as one of the best knock he has seen in the tournament’s history. Pant’s knock fired Delhi Daredevils to a commanding victory by 7 wickets. Full Cricket Scorecard, DD vs GL, Match 42
Surely, Pant deserved to complete his maiden IPL hundred but fell short by 3 runs and left the field heartbroken. It was his prolific batting which made the contest interesting and fans were thrilled to watch some belligerent hitting by a talented young batsman. But when he was at 97, facing pacer Basil Thampi, Pant chased a delivery outside off and got an edge. The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium became quiet right after umpire Nitin Menon raised his finger to signal Pant was out.
Pant was left shattered but showing true sportsmanship, Gujarat Lions’ captain Suresh Raina walked up to the batsman and appreciated the Delhi batsman for his effort.
The contest ended in DD’s favour, which also turned out to be their highest successful chase in IPL history. Pant had a good start in this season of IPL but it was followed with a string of low scores and then bounced back with a bang.
