'Better Chance of Qualifying if I Played Against RCB': Rishabh Pant Rues His One-match Suspension

Rishabh Pant said his one-match suspension probably cost Delhi Capitals a spot in the IPL 2024 playoffs as they would have had a better chance of winning the crucial game if he was on the field.

Pant had to sit out of the must-win clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday after he was handed a one-match suspension for a third slow-over rate offence.

Not only did DC lose the game but the 47-run defeat also impacted their net run-rate and now they have to sit and wait for the other teams to play out their matches to find out if they have qualified for the playoffs or not.

“I wouldn’t say we would have definitely won the game if I had played. But we had a better chance of qualifying if I would have had a chance to play in the last game,” Pant said after DC’s 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.

DC endured an inconsistent run in the beginning of the season but made a late charge towards the end to strengthen their chances of making it to the top-four.

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Injuries to veteran pacers Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and opener David Warner didn’t help their cause either.

“We started the season with a lot of hope, but there were injuries, and ups and downs. But as a franchise, you can’t complain all the time; you have to make use of what you have… There are some things which you can control, but some things which you can’t,” Pant said.

After half-centuries by Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs propelled DC to a daunting 208/4, Ishant starred with three wickets in the Powerplay, reducing LSG to 44/4 in the fifth over at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

While Nicholas Pooran made a hard-hitting 61, Arshad threatened to take the game away with an unbeaten 58. But it wasn’t enough as LSG ended up at 189/9, and DC ended the league stage with a win.

(With inputs from Agencies)