IPL 2021: 'They are great assets,' Pant praises Rabada-Nortje after DC's 8-wicket win

Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant praised his pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, calling them "great assets" after his side's eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Wednesday.

Rabada and Nortje combined picked up five wickets as DC restricted SRH at 134 for 9 in 20 overs. Nortje, who eventually won the Player of the Match for his figures of 2 for 12 in four overs, dismissed SRH's dangerous batsman David Warner for a three-ball duck in the first over of the day at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

"We discussed that we had a good first phase, and we are happy to start the second phase this way. We said the same thing about focusing on the process and giving it 100% every day. It's a good bowling performance because we thought 150-160 would have been a good total, so 130-something was a good score to restrict them to. We have one of the quickest bowlers in the world so I think they're great assets to have," Pant said at the presentation after DC's easy win on Wednesday.

At the end of the powerplay overs, SRH had just 29 runs on the board and were already two wickets down. Coming out to bat at 74 for 5, Abdul Samad top scored for SRH with his knock of 28 off 21 balls, which included two fours and a six. Tail-ended Rashid Khan played a cameo as he struck 22 off 19 deliveries.

During the chase, DC suffered an early blow as they lost opening batsman Prithvi Shaw at 20 for 1. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer brought DC's chase back on track. They put up 52 runs for the second wicket before the dismissal of the former in the 11th over. Dhawan struck six fours and a six during his knock of 42 off 37 balls before falling to Rashid.

Meanwhile, with his score of 42, Dhawan also surpassed Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul to reclaim the Orange Cap. The Delhi opener now has scored 422 runs in nine games this season, while Rahul has 380 runs to his name in eight matches.

"I'm enjoying wearing the cap, I'm enjoying the way I'm timing the ball. Not very true, this surface, it stopped a bit, and we had to plan the game according to the wicket. So it was good to go out there and secure a win. I consciously made an effort to increase the tempo and strike-rate, because I wanted to be an impactful player for my side.

It was just about the execution. Rabada and Nortje are our gun bowlers. Rabada always gets us the wicket. Nortje has great pace and his game has improved too, so they are troubling the batsmen. Absolutely enjoying being at the top of the table," Dhawan said after the match.

https://twitter.com/DelhiCapitals/status/1440741588712366081

With the win against SRH on Wednesday, DC have reclaimed their top spot in the IPL 2021 points table. They now have seven wins in nine matches. Delhi are set to next travel to Abu Dhabi to take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday (Sept. 25). On the same day, SRH will be in action in Sharjah against Punjab Kings (PBKS).