Dubai: Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant on Thursday said he is proud of his side despite its ouster from the IPL after a close loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 and described his teammates as ‘exceptional warriors’.Delhi lost by three wickets, primarily undone by an underwhelming batting show which put up just 135 runs on the board for KKR to chase.
Delhi fought hard with the ball but KKR edged home with one ball to spare after losing five wickets for seven runs at one stage.
‘It ended in heartbreak last night, but I could not be more proud of leading this team of exceptional warriors. We battled hard through the season, and while we may have fallen short on some days, we always gave 100 per cent,’ Pant tweeted.
‘To the owners, management, staff, my teammates and most importantly, our passionate fans, I want to say thank you from my heart. You all made this season special. We will come back stronger,’ he said.
Two-time champions KKR will face three-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash in Dubai on Friday.
Riding on a brilliant fifty by Venkatesh Iyer (55 off 41), Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets in a thrilling Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, on Wednesday.
A clinical bowling performance by bowlers helped Kolkata Knight Riders restrict Delhi Capitals to 135/5 in 20 overs. For Delhi, Shikhar Dhawan (36), Shreyas Iyer (30*) were the top-scorers while Varun Chakaravarthy (2/26) was the most successful bowler for KKR.
Chasing a total of 136 runs for victory, Iyer hit his third fifty of the season while Gill and Nitish Rana also made important contributions of 46 and 13 respectively to help the team reach close to the finish line.
But things took a dramatic turn when Gill got out and KKR collapsed from 125 for 2 to 130 for 7 before Rahul Tripathi held his nerve and hit a six in the final over, leading his team to victory with 1 ball left.