Rishabh Pant breaks silence on DRS blooper against Tim David in crucial DC vs MI encounter

The Match No. 69 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) edition saw Mumbai Indians (MI) lock horns with Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. The Mumbai Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets, denying them a playoff berth and enabling Royal Challengers Bangalore to move into the top four in the points table. Despite their best efforts to claw their way back into the game after a poor start, an error in judgement allowed the game to slip away from Delhi Capitals.

Pant on DRS gaffe

It all happened when Delhi Capitals' skipper Rishabh Pant decided not to review what appeared to be an outside edge for Tim David in the 15th over of Mumbai Indians' innings. The Australian all-rounder appeared to have edged a delivery from Shardul Thakur, but the on-field umpire ruled it not out. Despite appealing enthusiastically from behind the stumps, Rishabh Pant decided not to review the ruling. He was seen having a chat with his teammates before making the call to not review the on-field umpire's decision. 

After the game, Pant explained why he did not go upstairs to review the decision. Pant said he wasn't sure if David had knicked the ball so he approached his teammates for input. Pant added that everyone standing inside the 30-yard circle was convinced that David had not edged the ball and hence he did not challenge the on-field umpire's decision. 

"I thought there was something but everyone standing in the circle was not convinced enough so I was asking them 'should we go up' and at the end I didn't take the review," Pant said in his post-match interview.

The Delhi Capitals were on the verge of reaching their fourth consecutive final, but their playoff record was shattered after the five-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians. The Rishabh Pant-led side will now have to wait for one more year to try and win their first IPL trophy. The Capitals have never won an IPL season in the history of the tournament, however, they have reached the final once in 2020 under the leadership of the then captain-coach duo of Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting. 

Image: iplt20.com/BCCI