‘Come on, Ash! Come on, Ash! Come on, Ash! Come on, Ash!’
These ever-so-nostalgic words spark memories of none other than Rishabh Pant encouraging India’s Ravichandran Ashwin from behind the stumps to scalp yet another wicket of the opposition as the Men in Blue don the whites in Test format.
Well, the tables seem to have turned in present times, as it was now Rajasthan Royals’ Ashwin who was encouraging the young and recently-reintroduced Delhi Capitals’ Rishabh Pant from behind the stumps in the nets during practice.
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Pant, who met with a freak accident back in 2022, finally made his comeback to cricket after 14 months in DC’s debut match against Punjab Kings.
The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter, who spent the last entire year in the National Cricket Academy rehabilitating, faced 13 balls during his stay at the crease and accumulated 18 runs with the help of 2 boundaries. But the moment he decided to switch gears, he succumbed to a slower delivery by Harshal Patel.
Ultimately, in a game that went down to the very last over, Punjab Kings, guided by the fifty of Sam Curran, triumphed over Delhi Capitals to inaugurate a new stadium and adorn it with a nail-biter of a win by 4 wickets.
It was yesterday in preparation for Delhi’s encounter against the Rajasthan Royals tomorrow, where Ashwin caught a glimpse of Pant, and decided to return the once-stalwart Indian keeper’s support for the spinner back.
Batting in the nets during practice, Ashwin made his way to the ground as he witnessed Pant in action and in classic Pant fashion, encouraged him from behind the stumps, egging the batter on to find his groove.
“Come on, Rishabh! Keep playing yaar!’ yelled Ashwin in support of his Indian teammate.
All these years, Pant had Ash’s back. And today, it was about time… pic.twitter.com/7fuKYmHYaO— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 26, 2024
‘A little bit of encouragement and you hit it for a six!’ exclaimed the veteran spinner as Pant fired a bullet down the ground in the nets.
In a heartwarming and funny moment, DC coach Ricky Ponting also entered the scene, asking Ashwin to stand behind the stumps for Pant in game as well in order to aid the batter.
Pant may have been out for a moment, but boy has the spirited wicketkeeper-batter not proven that he will bounce back, slowly but steadily. And it took no longer than one match in the IPL for Pant to show glimpses of his old self to the delight of all Indians.
For Kuldeep’s second scalp, it was Jitesh Sharma, who looked to play the reverse sweep, who misjudged a delivery and did not get bat on the ball, thereby missed his footing. And it took no longer than that momentary lapse of judgment from Jitesh for Pant to pounce and scalp his wicket.
In a quick showcase of his lightning-fast reflexes, Pant had the presence of mind to enforce the stumping and dismiss the possible dangerman to pile the pressure on Punjab.
DC are set to face off against RR at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium at Jaipur tomorrow.
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