Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant's scintillating knock of 55 off 25 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) took the internet by storm with netizens going gaga over the Uttarakhand-born cricketer's heroics.

 

During his stunning innings against the Gautam Gambhir-coached side, the southpaw even took Ventakesh Iyer to the cleaners, having hit him for 28 runs in an over. Remarkably, Rishabh Pant tore him apart, striking him for four boundaries and two sixes in that over.

 

Though Rishabh Pant lit up the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, he failed to power the Delhi Capitals to victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders in that encounter as the left-hander's team lost the game by 106 runs. 

 

This came after Sunil Narine sparkled at the top for KKR, dealing in fours and sixes during his dazzling knock of 85 off 39 balls after Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first after winning the toss. 

 

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, and Rinku Singh ably supported him, clobbering 54 off 27, 41 off 19, and 26 off 8 balls, respectively.

 

Their blazing knocks together took KKR to an improbable target of 272 in their allocated 20 overs. 

 

Chasing a mammoth target of 273, the Delhi Capitals never got going, and except for Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs (54 off 32 deliveries), no other batter from the franchise made his mark in the match.

 

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant also earned praise for his performance on the field, particularly for his recent innings against KKR.

“Rishabh Pant is certainly looking good and a lot of people, including myself, can't believe his progress both physically, mentally and his performance on the field. There is one thing getting your own body and mind right, there is another thing delivering on the field. He is leading his team and he is actually leading quite well. He needs a little bit of help alongside it. He needs to find more out of the likes of Mitchell Marsh, more runs from David Warner and a lot more from Prithvi Shaw,” former England captain Eoin Morgan said on Jio Cinema. 

Overall, Rishabh Pant has scored 152 runs in four games, including two half-centuries in the ongoing edition of the IPL. Impressively, he has scored his runs at a healthy average of 38 and a sensational strike-rate of 158. 

 

Following their heavy defeat in Visakhapatnam, Rishabh Pant met Shah Rukh Khan and shared a tight hug with the actor, who is known for praising and putting his faith in cricketers who come from humble backgrounds or have survived a tragedy.

 

While Rishabh Pant is the skipper of the Delhi Capitals, Shah Rukh Khan is the co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders. 

 

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the Kolkata Knight Riders are currently on top of the table, having won all three games in the prestigious T20 league with healthy margins.

 

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has made an impressive return to competitive cricket after spending 15 months on the sidelines due to a life-threatening car accident in December 2022. 

 

After his interaction with Shah Rukh Khan, Rishabh Pant shared a picture with the Bollywood icon on social media with the caption, “Always good to see you Bhaiya so warm as always.” 

 

His post became an instant hit on Instagram, with a vast legion of Rishabh Pant and Shah Rukh Khan supporters voicing their opinions about the duo's meeting on the internet.