I have already started enjoying captaincy: Rishabh Pant

Newly-appointed Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has stated that he has already started enjoying captaincy. The youngster led his team to their second win in the 2021 Indian Premier League. The batsman was declared DC's new skipper following Shreyas Iyer's shoulder injury. He dislocated his shoulder during the ODI series against England and has now been ruled out of the entire IPL season. In his absence, the onus is on the young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant to deliver as captain. 

In his IPL captaincy bow, Rishabh Pant led Delhi Capitals to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings. In the second game, the last season's finalists lost to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets. However, the team bounced back more robust in the third encounter against Punjab Kings. DC went on to win the contest by six wickets. Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan struck an astonishing 92 as Delhi Capitals quickly chased the target at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Dhawan looked in great form during his 49-ball knock that consisted of 13 fours and two sixes. The opening batsman was ably supported by Prithvi Shaw (32 off 15) and then captain Rishabh Pant (15). Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis also scored 27 runs and helped chased down 196 in 18.2 overs. 

Delhi Capitals to move to Chennai for their next two matches

Earlier, Punjab had one of their best opening partnerships of the season. Skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal added 122 runs off 77 balls. Both the batsmen scored half-centuries. Then, cameos from Shahrukh Khan and Deepak Hooda assured they fell just five runs short of the 200-run mark. The target was not enough on a pitch like Wankhede, considering the pitch helps the batsmen more. The total seemed to be a winning score on a sound batting track, but Shikhar Dhawan's knock just turned the game in DC's favor. 

Rishabh Pant and the team will now move away from the batting-friendly Wankhede to the sluggish Chepauk in Chennai for their next two matches. Chennai has so far proven to be a challenging surface to bat for teams this season. The batsmen have struggled to get going on the slow-turner. However, Shikhar Dhawan is up to the task and looking forward to the forthcoming challenge. Delhi Capitals will now play against Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians in their next match on Tuesday in Chennai.

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