On Rishabh Pant’s 100th Indian Premier League (IPL) game, Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting presented him with a personalized jersey. On Thursday (March 28), the Capitals face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Pant received a personalized jersey in a video released by the IPL’s official handle on X (previously Twitter), followed by a wave of applause from teammates in the huddle before the game.
Watch the video below.
A round of applause and a special jersey ???? for Captain @RishabhPant17 who is all set to play his 100th IPL match ????????
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/gSsTvJeK8v#TATAIPL | #RRvDC | @DelhiCapitals pic.twitter.com/OQ6jvcTXMK— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 28, 2024
Interestingly, Rishabh Pant is the first player to play 100 games for the Delhi-based team. Amit Mishra, who currently plays for the Lucknow Super Giants, formerly played for the Capitals in 99 games.
Several players achieved the milestone of 100 games for their respective IPL franchises. Suresh Raina reached this mark for Chennai Super Kings. Harbhajan Singh did so for Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli accomplished it with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Gautam Gambhir hit the century for Kolkata Knight Riders. Ajinkya Rahane achieved the feat for Rajasthan Royals. Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined the club representing Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, no player has yet played 100 games for the Punjab Kings franchise.
It’s noteworthy that Pant is currently featuring in only his second IPL match after an extended injury break. At 26 years old, he missed 15 months due to a severe car accident. Pant underwent comprehensive rehabilitation at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy to recover from his injuries.
Rishabh Pant hit 18 runs off 13 balls, including two boundaries, in his return game against the Punjab Kings. In addition, the wicketkeeper took one catch and stumped one player during the match. However, the Capitals lost the match by four wickets.
Rishabh Pant Reflects on Significance of Playing 100 Matches for DC in IPL 2024
DC skipper Rishabh Pant, who won the toss and chose to bowl first against RR, expressed his excitement at representing Delhi Capitals in their 100th game. He said:
“Feels good to play 100 matches for the same franchise, but every game is important for me.”
The Delhi-based franchise made two changes, with Ishant Sharma out due to injury and Shai Hope suffering a back spasm. Anrich Nortje and Mukesh, both speedsters, replaced them in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, the Sanju Samson led RR kept their starting lineup following a 20-run victory over the Lucknow Super Giants in their first encounter.