IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant slams DC's fielding after RCB loss

Rishabh Pant slammed Delhi Capitals' fielding as they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Friday.

At the end of the group stage, DC are at the top of the IPL 2021 table with 20 points, ahead of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RCB.

After being asked to bat, DC put up 164 for 5 in 20 overs. DC's openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan put up 88 runs for the first wicket before Shreyas Iyer scored run-a-ball 18 and Shimron Hetymer 29 off 22 balls.

In reply to that, Srikar Bharat produced a Player of the Match performance as he remained unbeaten on 78 off 52. RCB needed 5 off the final ball of the match and Bharat swung over long-on.

"We know how important fielding is in T20s. If you field the way we did, you deserve to lose. We also lost too many wickets while batting. But we will have to field better next time, I guess. It was difficult for the fast bowlers with the dew, but the fielding has to support the bowling unit. We are not feeling great because you want to win these kinds of matches," DC captain Pant said after his side's loss on Friday.

Maxwell, who remained unbeaten on 51 off 33, received two lives during RCB's chase and the Aussie all-rounder capitalised on the same. In the 14th over, which was bowled by Axar Patel, Maxwell was first dropped by Shreyas Iyer and then by Ravichandran Ashwin.

https://twitter.com/RCBTweets/status/1446534864430198785

Bharat and Maxwell shared a match-winning stand of 111 runs that helped RCB secure their 100th win in the IPL.

"Great winning on the last ball, and an incredible feeling to finish it off. Maxi and I just kept telling each other to watch that ball till the end. I wasn't nervous at any point and I was just looking for the right ball and the opportunity to hit it out. I have worked hard, I believe nothing comes for free. I work on my batting against spin. This will give us a lot of confidence," said Bharat at the post-match presentation.

Meanwhile, RCB captain Virat Kohli hailed his side, with special mentions of Bharat, Maxwell and AB de Villiers.

"Unbelievable game. We had nothing to lose, but it was a competitive game which is always the case in the IPL. To lose wickets and to still beat the team at the top of the table feels good. We have beaten them twice now. The way AB batted in the beginning and then with KS (Bharat) and Maxwell, in the end, was unbelievable. The reality was that we had to win by 160 runs, and we thought that there could be a collapse or something. We thought of it the other way around.

This gives us the confidence that we can pull off a game from any situation. We haven't chased much in this tournament. Number three hasn't been an issue. We wanted to give Christian some time, he was batting really well in the middle. We took that chance and it didn't come off. We knew KS was a guy who could come in at three at any stage. I think we need to sharpen up in the field. Sometimes the boundaries that go at crucial stages, could be critical. You need to be switched on always," added Kohli after his side's fantastic win in Dubai.

RCB will now take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2021's Eliminator fixture on Monday (Oct. 11) in Sharjah.

"A win like this gives you the confidence. We have played well in Sharjah. We have been able to handle the conditions and keep the opposition in check if things have gotten away from us. We have the experience already and we need to utilize it as much as possible to keep moving on in this tournament," said Kohli.