IPL 2022: Rishabh Pant explains how DC maintained its composure against PBKS despite COVID scare

It was a thunderous performance by Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 32 of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, DC romped to a nine-wicket win with 57 balls to spare. The emphatic win for DC came as a surprise after Rishabh Pant and co suffered a few COVID scares in the camp.

DC currently has six of its members infected, while a couple of them happen to be players in the form of Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert. The match was doubtful before the rest of the squad tested negative, and the side had enough players to field. Notably, DC made just a change in its playing XI, replacing Marsh.

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Following the domination, Pant stated, "There was a lot of confusion because we learnt of the positive test in the morning [Seifert]. We were a bit nervous, and there were talks of the game getting cancelled. But, we spoke as a team that we must purely focus on the match."

The match turned out to be a one-sided show. While the PBKS batters failed to get the runs going, indicating that the wicket might be tricky to bat on, scoring a paltry 115, DC proved it wrong and made it look easy. Openers Prithvi Shaw (41) and David Warner (60*) got the job done with ease.

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Speaking on the same, Pant added, "Mostly, I like to leave them [Warner-Shaw] alone because they know their roles. Delhi Capitals has to go through every game. Results are not in our control, but we have to give everything in our games. On a wicket like this, I saw the ball stopping after one or two overs, and I thought I should use more spin. I thought 150 would be a good enough score to stop them."