Rishabh Pant hails Delhi's 'fighting spirit' despite an off day in the summit clash

One of Delhi's star cricketers Rishabh Pant hailed his team for showing a great fighting spirit even though they could not go all the way in the all-important final against the title-holders Mumbai at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night.
It seemed that Delhi had just peaked at the right time heading into the summit clash but Rohit Sharma & Co. were too strong for them in the decider. In the end, it turned out to be a one-sided contest as Mumbai registered a comprehensive win by five wickets to retain their title. 

'Always showed fighting spirit': Rishabh Pant

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Pant wrote that he is proud of the team even though they could not finish the season on a high. The wicket-keeper batsman then mentioned that they always showed fighting spirit despite having their ups and downs.
The youngster then thanked all his teammates and coaches for their support and then expressed love for their amazing fans. In the end, the stumper promised that the team would come back stronger. 

This was Delhi's first-ever appearance in an Dream 11 IPL 2020 final since the inception of the marquee tournament back in 2008. 

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So near yet so far for Delhi

Delhi were reduced to 22/3 after winning the toss and electing to bat first in their maiden final appearance. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant then added 96 runs for the fourth-wicket stand. Skipper Iyer remained unbeaten and played a crucial knock of a 50-ball 65 as Delhi finished their innings at 156/7 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Iyer's opposite number Rohit Sharma successfully anchored Mumbai's run chase as he toyed around with the Delhi bowlers by smashing them to all parts of the ground. The 'Hitman' played a spectacular knock of a 51-ball 68 at a strike rate of 133.33 including five boundaries and four maximums. Apart from anchoring the innings, the elegant opener was also involved in a couple of good partnerships with his opening partner Quinton de Kock & Suryakumar Yadav. 

When Rohit was eventually dismissed in the 17th over it appeared that Delhi would somehow stage a comeback in the contest but it was not to be as Ishan Kishan and Krunal Pandya helped the reigning champions cross the finish line with 8 balls to spare. 

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