Delhi Capitals skilled opener Shikhar Dhawan was mighty impressed with Rishabh Pant’s management qualities, saying the teen led the staff in a relaxed and composed method in his first match as captain and can solely get higher with time.
Pant was thrust into captaincy after common skipper Shreyas Iyer sustained a shoulder damage throughout the latest ODI collection in opposition to England and was dominated out of the match.
The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman made a memorable begin to his captaincy stint as he led DC to a convincing seven-wicket win over three-time champions Chennai Super Kings of their opening match of the IPL 2021 right here on Saturday.
“He (Rishabh Pant) did quite well. First of all, glad that he won the toss. It was a bit of a sticky wicket, so it was good for us to bat second. He kept his calm and kept on motivating the boys,” Dhawan mentioned throughout the post-match press convention.
“He made good adjustments as properly. It was his first match (as captain), so I’m positive it’s only going to get refined from right here. He has simply began and with expertise, I’m positive, he’s solely going to get higher.
“The best thing about Rishabh Pant is that he stays calm. His presence of mind is quite there, which is very very good.”
Asked if he provides his recommendation to Pant as a senior participant, Dhawan mentioned: “…of course, I give my advice to him. The youngsters, whenever they come to me to ask for batting tips or mindset things, I always share my knowledge with them.”
Dhawan smashed a 54-ball 85 studded with 10 fours and two maximums and alongwith Prithvi Shaw (72) shared a 138-run opening stand as Delhi chased down 189 with eight balls to spare.
Asked about his sweep photographs in opposition to the pacers, Dhawan mentioned: “I began practising it on the nets after which launched it within the recreation. We must play in line with the sphere set. I knew Chennai retains sq. leg and nice leg contained in the 30-yard circle and hold covers behind for me.
“I knew their bowling plans, that they will bowl more yorkers to me. So just tried to use their pace and put the ball over the square leg.”
Dhawan was dropped after the primary T20I in opposition to England within the recent-concluded collection however made a comeback within the ODIs, scoring 98 and 67 within the first and third video games.
Asked if he had made adjustments in his strategy, Dhawan mentioned: “There isn’t any change in my strategy or something. I’ve been enjoying like this for a very long time now. If you have got watched me batting final IPL and even earlier than that I’ve batted with an excellent strike-rate.
“I’m blissful how I’m going, been far more constant and naturally I’ll look to enhance the place ever I can and I’m having fun with my recreation.
“I’m refining my skills and playing aggressive cricket and I will continue with this mindset and you will see me playing with the same way and this version of the game demands that,” he added.
The 35-year-old mentioned the staff will look to hold the momentum within the coming matches.
“I am happy it was a good performance. It was a good start for us, the whole team did well, Prithvi batted well and bowlers bowled well. Now we have to keep refining it and maintain it, that is the aim,” he mentioned.
Delhi will subsequent play Rajasthan Royals on April 15 in Mumbai.
