Rishabh Pant led Delhi Capitals suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. Delhi Capitals lost their must-win game by three wickets, displaying another batting collapse where the team only put up a score of just 135 runs on the board for KKR to chase.
After staring at defeat for most of KKR’s innings, Delhi Capitals made a comeback in the death overs of the game with some disciplined bowling show to put the Eoin Morgan-led side on the back foot. KKR needed only 13 runs from the last four overs however a mini-collapse saw KKR needing six runs from the last two balls.
With R Ashwin taking back-to-back wickets and on a hat-trick in the penultimate delivery of the game, it felt like DC would pull off a memorable comeback. However, KKR’s Rahul Tripathi had other plans as he smashed a six off Ashwin to hand KKR victory.
Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant was seen getting emotional after the match. On Thursday, Pant took to his Twitter and said that he is proud of his side despite its ouster from the IPL after a close loss to KKR in Qualifier 2 and also hailed his teammates as “exceptional warriors”. He wrote:
“It ended in heartbreak last night, but I could not be more proud of leading this team of exceptional warriors. We battled hard through the season, and while we may have fallen short on some days, we always gave 100%.”
In another Tweet, he thanked his fans, teammates, owners for making this season special. He also promised his fans that the team will come back stronger. He wrote:
“To the owners, management, staff, my teammates and most importantly, our passionate fans, I want to say thank you from my heart. You all made this season special. We will come back stronger. Delhi Capitals 
“
It ended in heartbreak last night, but I could not be more proud of leading this team of exceptional warriors. We battled hard through the season, and while we may have fallen short on some days, we always gave 100%. pic.twitter.com/IRPGqsmPT0
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) October 14, 2021
Meanwhile, the two-time champions KKR will face three-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash in Dubai on Friday.
