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Follow UsThe Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam is Delhi Capitals’ second home ground this season. But the DC fans were in the minority during Match 13, between Delhi and Chennai Super Kings. Instead, a sea of yellow flooded the stands, supporting CSK.
The DJ tried to pump up the fans by shouting “DC, DC” but all he heard back in return was “CSK, CSK.”
Roughly a couple of hours later, CSK succumbed to their first defeat of IPL 2024. However, the crowd was ecstatic. The 20-run defeat didn’t matter as MS Dhoni, batting in a professional match after 307 days, finished 37 not out off only 16 deliveries.
Cricket is a team game with 11 players framing a side (12 if you include the Impact Player). But on occasions, there are individuals who rise above the game. If ever there was proof of an individual’s aura being greater than the team, it was this, watching the CSK fans pumping their fist at every boundary (four fours and three sixes) Dhoni struck, irrespective of the asking rate.
There was a similar story at the other end. The story of another Indian wicketkeeper who wasn’t seen on the cricket field over the past year. The story of another awaited comeback. And arguably, another case of an individual being bigger than the team, as Pant’s healthy comeback to the field is more important than Delhi’s fortunes this year.
Rishabh Pant had returned to the cricket field after 455 days against Punjab but something was missing. Before coming to Vizag, Pant had scored 18 (13) in Mullanpur and 28 (26) in Jaipur.
If you have played sports at any level, you will understand the complexities of gaining your rhythm back after a long absence from the game.
Match practice is match practice yaar.
Regarding batting, it is the timing, spontaneity to hit the ball in the gap and instilling enough power into the shot that takes time to get a hold of. Pant was playing his shots alright but without the flair that would bring him the boundaries - only four fours and a six in those 46 runs off 39 deliveries.
After another slow start in Vizag, the Delhi skipper took on the CSK’s overseas pacers - Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana. He first hit Rahman for a four and a six and then collected 16 off four balls against Pathirana, Chennai’s best bowler of the night. Pant soared from 23 off 23 to complete his first fifty since comeback, in 31 balls. Like Dhoni, he hit four fours and three sixes.
The left-hander was out soon after for 51 off 32 balls. Assessing the emotional significance of the innings, Ricky Ponting, DC’s head coach, ran towards Pant and put an arm around his shoulder when the skipper headed back to the changing room.
Delhi won by 20 runs. Pant’s late burst had a big part in it. But for a while, the outcome of the game was secondary to Pant returning to his old self as a death-over basher.
It was a happy coincidence that both wicketkeepers showed the shades of their vintage best after what felt like an eternity. The duo has been in a mentor-mentee relationship for as long as you can remember. It is hard to find Dhoni when he is not playing cricket. But over the past year, whenever he was spotted, it was mostly around Pant.
Now, thanks to the perfect bowling plans of Pant’s Delhi, Dhoni walked out to bat despite his affinity to keep moving himself down the order.
Both batters smashed a one-handed six. “A Dhoni special,” roared Ian Bishop in the commentary box when he carted Anrich Nortje over the cow corner in one of the best shots of the season. “There goes the vintage Rishabh Pant shot,” were the words of Harsha Bhogle as Pant’s bottom hand came off while depositing Rahman behind the deep square leg fielder. It was the past and the future of Indian cricket coming together to savour the present.
Dhoni’s innings was swashbuckling through and through. He struck fours and sixes through the covers when Delhi bowled wide yorkers, giving the fans a consolation prize. Except here, the consolation prize was bigger than the two points on offer.
From his first ball four to his last ball six, Dhoni single-handedly raised the decibel levels in Visakhapatnam, the same venue where he began it all with a punishing 148, his first international hundred way back in 2005. His long-haired version only added to the charm, sending plenty of Millennials and Gen Zs two decades back in time. At 42, he has still “got it.” Two months of it every year, please!
Pant’s knock was a more grinding effort that not only got the job done for the team but also assured the cricket followers of his recovery path. The Delhi-ite can be back to doing outrageous things in India’s colours soon. And that is where Pant’s comeback is a bigger narrative than his team itself this season.
At the end of the match, the master and the student hugged each other, showcasing a mutual admiration for each other. Pant’s team, looking for their first win of the season, had just survived a Dhoni scare. As a fan, you wished that teleportation wasn’t just a theory and you could transport yourself to the venue to eavesdrop on the words exchanged between them.
This game will be mentioned several times in the remaining 61 matches of this edition. And don’t be alarmed if Pant and Dhoni come up in the conversations before all the other eventful happenings in the game.
