Chandigarh: When Rishabh Pant’s Mercedes caught fire after he hit a media divider in the early hours of December 30, 2022, Team India’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman thought his time in this world was over.
Exactly 450 days after the near-fatal crash, Pant returned to competitive cricket as captain of Delhi Capitals in the match 2 of IPL 2024.
The 26-year-old was hugged and embraced warmly by his teammates as well as players of rival team Punjab Kings when he stepped on to the brand-new Mullanpur cricket stadium here on Saturday afternoon.
And even though Delhi Capitals were playing at Punjab’s home ground, everyone present at the stadium, including players and officials, gave Pant a standing ovation when he went out for the toss with Shikhar Dhawan.
“It is a really emotional time for me. I just want to enjoy every moment on the field… Looking forward to my first match back. Really excited for the season,” Pant said after the toss.
Watch the moment of Pant’s return in this video posted by the Indian Premier League on X:
Look who is out in the middle to bat 💙
Follow the match▶️ https://t.co/ZhjY0W03bC #TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC | @DelhiCapitals | @RishabhPant17 pic.twitter.com/YdRt1lh6be
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2024
Pant was once again cheered all the way to the middle of the ground as he came out to bat at No. 4.
He showed glimpses of his attacking style before falling for 18 off 13 balls, which included 2 boundaries.
Pant later effected a fine stumping off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling to dismiss Jitesh Sharma.
Delhi Capitals, however, were soundly beaten by Punjab Kings in their opening game of IPL’s 17th edition.
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