IPL 2021: I learnt a lot from MS Dhoni, he's been my go-to man - Rishabh Pant

Given how much Rishabh Pant has been compared to MS Dhoni, there was a sense of amusement among cricket fans that the former’s first assigment as a skipper came against the latter. It was Pant’s Delhi Capitals emerged victorious against Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2021 encounter on Saturday night. Excellent contributions from openers Shikhar Dhawan (85) and Prithvi Shaw (72) saw that they finished the match with 8 balls to spare. However, while it was the student that triumphed the master, that didn’t stop Pant from paying a heartfelt tribute to Dhoni after the match.

“It was very special walking out for the toss with MS. He has been my go-to man. I have learnt a lot from him,” Pant said after the match.

‘Feels good to win’

Discussing his captaincy debut, he said that it was a challenge to work without Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. He further that he did feel some pressure in the middle phase of the first innings.

“It always feels good when you get the win in the end. In the middle phase, I was under some pressure. But Avesh and Tom (Curran) did well in the middle to restrict them to 188.

“We were thinking as to what we will do without Nortje and Rabada and I thought we had to do with the options we have.”

Saying good night from the Wankhede Stadium with a few smiles ☺️☺️#VIVOIPL #CSKvDC @Vivo_India pic.twitter.com/q2YLjK7Hps

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 10, 2021

That DC finished the chase with 8 balls to spare did wonders for their net run rate. However, Pant said that any NRR concerns were not at the front of their minds as a team.

“No, there was no effort for the NRR as it is still early stages in the tournament. Prithvi and Shikhar did well for us in the powerplay. They kept it simple and played some good cricketing shots.”

DC next take on Rajasthan Royals on Thursday while CSK face Punjab Kings on Friday.