Top five moments from this season’s IPL so far

1) IT WAS RISHABH PANT DAY. WELL PLAYED YOUNG MAN.

The latest youngster in the blocks is definitely the 19-year old swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. He has been an extremely promising talent for a while now. In Match 42 between Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the Delhi team was chasing a mammoth total of 208 when Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson came together and smashed the GL bowlers to all corners of the ground. They had a huge 143 run partnership which was instrumental in Daredevils pulling off a stunning victory.

Pant went berserk and scored 97 runs in just 43 balls hitting 9 sixes and 6 fours during his innings. However, he was dismissed by Basil Thampi towards the end of the match on 97 and he fell 3 runs short of becoming the youngest IPL centurion ever. He knicked the ball to Dinesh Karthik. Pant was dismayed and couldn’t believe that he had missed out on a well-deserved century. Seeing the disappointment on the face of the talented teenager, GL captain Suresh Raina went up to Pant and seemed to be consoling him and probably saying that it was an absolutely amazing innings and he had no reason to be disappointed. 100 is not that important. Raina patted his helmet in an attempt to make Pant feel a bit better before joining his teammates. This act of Suresh Raina won the hearts of all the people who saw a senior breaking the boundaries between teams and going ahead to make a youngster feel better. Raina has been known for his sportsman spirit and he did not disappoint at all. It comes as no surprise that Gujarat Lions are on top of the IPL Fair Play award list. Raina, in the post match interaction, rightly said, “It was Rishabh Pant day.”

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Aakash Verma