In only five matches after his return to competitive cricket, Rishabh Pant has already shown why everyone was eagerly waiting for his comeback. Despite his low start as the captain, with his team losing four out of five matches they have played till now in the IPL season 2024, the batting form of Rishabh Pant has been really impressive; he has smashed two half-centuries burnout, which was instrumental in their victory against the five-time Champions Chennai Super Kings.
While his innings against the Chennai Super Kings served as a reminder to the world of cricket of his amazing skills, it was his first half century since his return after the horrible accident he had faced in December 2022. The subsequent century of Rishabh Pant against the Kolkata Knight Riders had shown his full range of abilities, including his amazing 28 run over against Venkatesh Iyer, which was a note to the early IPL days of the month at the other end, and of Rishabh Pant against the Kolkata Knight Riders was Tristan Stubbs. He acknowledged the calming effect of Rishabh Pant on his batting partner.
Stubbs has himself emerged as the most reliable batsman of the Delhi capital in the Indian Premier League season 2024 till now, with three half centuries to his name, including an amazing unbeaten 71 in 29 balls against the Mumbai Indians. Tristan has become an essential part of the team’s batting line-up.
During the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Stubbs shared a necessary partnership of 93 runs with Rishabh Pant, highlighting the complementary styles of the duo.
During an interview, Stubbs said that it is very beneficial that Rishabh Pant is a left-handed batsman, whereas I am a right-handed batsman, which means they are different matchups. Pant continues to play the shorts and takes the bowler on, which means this is the left-right combination, and we also complement each other very well.”
There were a number of people who pointed out that Rishabh Pant looked rusty in his initial batting outings, but Tristian refused any kind of allegations. As he observed the wicketkeeper and batsman very closely during their time together at the franchise, he said that Pant appeared in peak form even during the net session before the start of the season as he continued to dominate the bowlers.
The young South African, who is currently leading the batting charts of the Delhi Capitals this season with 174 runs in 5 matches, also said that the presence of Pant has even improved his own performance.
