IPL 2019: Top 5 Batting knocks of the Season

#4 Rishabh Pant's quickfire 27-ball-78 vs Mumbai Indians

Pant's innings helped DC set a target of 214

The third match in the VIVO IPL 2019 was between perennial underachievers Delhi Capitals and slow-starters Mumbai Indians.

Rohit Sharma called the toss correctly and chose to bowl first on a ground where puddles of dew would have formed by the time they came out to bat. Delhi Capitals needed to score big to stand a chance against hosts.

The Delhi Capitals were well placed at 112-3 at the end of the 13th over when Rishabh Pant joined Shikhar Dhawan in the middle. DC needed a boost as anything below 190 would not have been sufficient on the pitch they were playing on.

Pant started rather uncharacteristically scoring just the one run in the first five balls he faced but the Delhi batsman upped the ante soon carting Ben Cutting to two fours and one six in the next over.

DC lost Dhawan at the start of the 16th over leaving all the onus on Pant to set a competitive total for MI. Pant obliged by smashing his team India mate Hardik Pandya for two maximums and a four in that same over.

By the end of the 17th over, Pant had scored 41 off 15 balls and Rohit Sharma sensed that his team would end up chasing a lot more if Pant stayed till the end so he decided to bring in his best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah.

The stage was set for the most anticipated clash of the night, Pant vs Bumrah. The first ball from Bumrah, a pinpoint yorker on the stumps Pant goes deep into the crease and unleashes a helicopter-esque shot depositing the ball over the square-leg boundary for a maximum.

One ball later, he smashed the ball into the mid-wicket boundary to bring up his half-century in just 18 balls.

Next up in the 19th over was the 17-year-old debutant Rasikh Salam and Pant showed no respite for the young pacer smashing him for two sixes and one four including a one-handed six over long-on.

The final over of the match saw Pant facing Bumrah again and he continued to toy with one of the best death-bowlers in the world by carting him for a maximum over deep-square leg before collecting a couple of singles to finish with 78 runs off 27 balls.

Pant's innings helped DC set a target of 214 for the then three-time champions MI.