NEW DELHI: A captain's job in cricket is not only confined to making tactical moves to adjusting field placements and managing the bowling and batting order based on the match's dynamics. He should also intervene if players from his team engage in a spontaneous altercation or conflict.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant exhibited a brilliant example of being a leader when Kuldeep Yadav lost his cool during the IPL match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
The incident occurred when pacer Mukesh Kumar unleashed a powerful throw from point towards Kuldeep at the non-striker's end, leading the spinner to express his displeasure.
"Pagal wagal hai kya", furious Kuldeep was heard saying to Mukesh. Pant stepped in to calm down Kuldeep, saying "gussa nahi gussa nahi" which was caught by a stump mic.
Coming to the match, Delhi Capitals opted to field first and efficiently bowled out former champions Gujarat Titans for a mere 89 runs.
Titans suffered a significant batting collapse, with Rashid Khan emerging as their top-scorer with a quickfire 31 off 24 balls. Apart from Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan (12) and Rahul Tewatia (10) were the only other batters to reach double figures.
This dismal total of 89 marks Titans' lowest-ever score in IPL history, surpassing their previous lowest score of 125, which incidentally also came against Capitals in Ahmedabad last year.
For Capitals, Mukesh Kumar was the standout bowler, claiming three wickets for just 14 runs. Additionally, Ishant Sharma and Tristan Stubbs contributed significantly with two wickets each, conceding 8 and 11 runs respectively.
