Rishabh Pant hails 'great Indian talent' Lalit Yadav for playing crucial knock against MI

Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant has hailed fellow teammate Lalit Yadav as a "great Indian talent" who they are trying to groom in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). When asked about the reason behind sending Lalit Yadav early to bat in the second inning during their match against Mumbai Indians, Pant heaped praises on the young Indian batsman and said he is one of the players they are trying to groom this year. Pant said Yadav is a great Indian talent and can do wonders for the team on wickets like Chennai. Yadav came in to bat ahead of his skipper Rishabh Pant and remained unbeaten on 22 off 25 balls as Delhi down the target of 138 runs with five balls to spare. 

"I think Lalit is a great Indian talent who we are trying to groom and on a wicket like this, I think he can do wonders for us. That's what we believe," Pant said after the match against Mumbai Indians. Pant, who is captaining an IPL side for the time, sent Lalit Yadav at number 4 after Steve Smith was dismissed by Mumbai all-rounder Kieron Pollard. Yadav batted till the end for Delhi and finished the game alongside Shimron Hetmyer, who came in and smashed 14 off just 9 balls. Yadav faced 25 balls and scored 22 runs with a strike rate of 88.00, which was at par given that Capitals were chasing a low total of just 137 runs. 
 

Courtesy of the win, Delhi Capitals are now sitting at the number 2 position on the points table, just below Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which haven't lost a single game so far in IPL 2021. Delhi Capitals won their first game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The Ricky Ponting-coached side lost their second game against Rajasthan Royals before bouncing back stronger in the third game as it won comfortably against Punjab Kings. Last night, the runners-up from the previous season locked horns against the champions for the first time this year and proved to be a stronger side in the match. 

DC vs MI

After winning the toss, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bat first and post a total for the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi side. Delhi Capitals bowlers got a good start as they dismissed opener Quinton de Kock early on but Mumbai stayed in the game as skipper Rohit Sharma smashed 44 off 30 balls. Veteran spinner Amit Mishra picked up four wickets for Delhi Capitals as the side managed to restrict Mumbai for just 137 runs at the end of the first inning. Delhi chased down the target in the final over of the match with Lalit Yadav and Shimron Hetmyer finishing the game for the last year's runners-up. Shikhar Dhawan hit 45 off 42 with Steve Smith scoring 33 off 39 balls for Delhi Capitals. 

(Image Credit: IPL/PTI/Lalit Yadav/Instagram)