Having won the toss, Delhi Capitals elected to bat, in what seemed to be the right decision in Chennai, a pitch that traditionally has allowed for good batting in the first innings. Taking a clue on what not to do from Mumbai, the duo of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan took the attack to the Sunrisers, in the powerplay, where Shaw was the aggressor. However, once Dhawan was undone by Rashid Khan, the responsibility was on the incoming Rishabh Pant, to take the mantle.

The left-hander began his innings in the most Pant-ish fashion, with some struggle. On top of that, he was saved by a missed opportunity from Jonny Bairstow before Shaw found himself struggling short at the other end. The fun, however, began after that when Vijay Shankar came into bowl against the left-handed Pant.

In the fifth delivery of the over, the all-rounder, due to Chennai’s weather tossed a ‘moon’ ball gently towards the left-hander, who in the most animated fashion took on the opportunity. Pant imitated Rafael Nadal, with a forehand shot against Shankar’s innocuous delivery. While the SRH all-rounder expected the ball to be called a ‘dead’ one, it ended in the ball being beaten to death by the left-hander. Wicketkeeping? Check! Captaincy? Check! Tennis stint? Now, check! Pant has indeed entered the realm of tennis, watch out Novak!

3D Shankar delivers moon ball from fourth dimension

How often do we see that in International cricket

Vijay Galileo Shankar

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