"We thought he might do something good for the team if we send him up" - Rishabh Pant laments failed Rovman Powell move vs LSG

Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant highlighted losing wickets in clusters in the middle overs as an area of concern, adding it helped them reach only a sub-par total. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) won three on the bounce as they beat DC in the last over at the DY Patil Stadium tonight.

After being put into bat, opener Prithvi Shaw gave DC a flying start as the 22-year-old scored 61 of the first 67 runs. But once off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham (1 for 23) took him out, leggie Ravi Bishnoi (2 for 22) joined the party to reduce DC to 74 for 3 in the 11th over. Among Bishnoi's scalps was Rovman Powell.

Asked about the move to promote the hard-hitting West Indian up to No. 3, Rishabh Pant reasoned that they wished for him to continue the momentum set by Shaw. But three wickets for just seven runs stunted the run-flow.

“We sent Powell early because we had gotten off to a good start in the powerplay. And we had a plan from before, that since the ball was turning more after getting old, we thought he might do something good for the team if we send him up. But it didn’t pay off.

"Like the first two matches, we lost two-three wickets together, which created some pressure. But Sarfaraz and I tried to build a partnership, and at the end, Avesh and Holder bowled really good two-three overs and we couldn’t get those 10 extra runs,” Pant said in response to a Sportskeeda query at the post-match press conference.

Pant (39* off 36) along with Sarfaraz Khan (36* off 28), who was playing his first match of the season, then steadied the ship and strung together a patient 75-run alliance. The Delhi-based outfit reached 149 for 3, which wasn’t enough.

The skipper added that Lucknow were aided by the absence of dew in the first innings, coupled with some miserly death bowling by Avesh Khan and Jason Holder - only 19 runs came in the final three overs.

“Some days, bowlers are going to have a good day and today was one of those days. In the first innings, the ball was stopping more because there was no dew. So they could capitalise on that, which is why we were 10 runs short in the end,” the 24-year-old remarked.

DC did put up a strong defence, but a fighting 80 off 52 balls from opener Quinton de Kock and a nerveless 10* off 3 from Ayush Badoni at the end helped LSG over the line with two balls to spare.

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“We are seeing a pattern” – Rishabh Pant points out DC’s areas of improvement

Quinton de Kock was adjudged Player of the Match for his 52-ball 80 [Credits: IPL]

Rishabh Pant reiterated that losing wickets in clusters is hurting his side. But the bottom line is that the DC middle order hasn’t fired in the three matches so far. While a dramatic heist by Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav gave them a win in their opening game, the two losses could arguably be put down to a lack of firepower in the middle period.

Delhi have also been left in limbo due to the unavailability of star Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. Player of the Match in the final of the T20 World Cup last year, Marsh has been sidelined with a hip injury. The INR 6.5 crore-signing didn’t take part in Australia’s recently concluded Pakistan tour, and Pant informed that he is yet to join their camp as well.

“Mitchell Marsh was there in our initial playing XI. But because of international commitments and the recent injury, he is yet to come. We’re obviously missing him, but as a batting unit, we have to find ways to improve ourselves.

"It’s been two-three matches and we are seeing a pattern, so we have to work on not losing wickets in clusters, playing fewer dot balls in the middle overs. We will work on ourselves and I hope we’ll be fine going forward in the tournament,” he concluded.

DC have just two days to fix the holes before facing the table-topping Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday afternoon. LSG will play the Rajasthan Royals (RR) later that evening at the Wankhede Stadium, according to the IPL 2022 schedule.