Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant admitted to use delaying tactics against to try and derail Kolkata Knight Riders in their chase of 239 at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
KKR were looking good in pursuit of 239 but they lost their way after the dismissal of their captain Ajinkya Rahane for an aggressive half-century. Pant, speaking to JioHotstar in the post-match presentation, said he wanted to slow down the game because these decisions can affect a game when things are running a different way.
“Definitely it was a conscious decision because when the game is running at that pace, you have to slow it down. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I am happy it worked today,” Pant said.
Not the first time
This is not the first time Pant used his street smarts to change the course of a game. His quick thinking helped India choke South Africa in a thrilling final of the T20 World Cup last year.
Rohit Sharma, who retired from T20 Internationals after that final, would later go on to say that Pant had used his brains to stop the game.
“They had a lot of wickets left and set batters were on the group. We were feeling the tension, we were scared as well, but a captain needs to have a strong face at that moment.
No one knows this but when 30 were needed in 30 [26 in 24], there was a small break. Rishabh Pant used his brains and stopped the game, saying he has a niggle in his knee and started taping it,” Rohit had said on The Great Indian Kapil Show.
Rishabh Pant has struggled with the bat after becoming the most expensive player in IPL history but his leadership at LSG has been impressive and the team has now made its way into the fourth spot in the points table.
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