Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant blamed his batters' failure to score freely in the middle overs which led them to a below-par target, eventually lost by six wickets against Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL 2022 match at the DY Patil Stadium, here on Thursday. Opener Prithvi Shaw blasted a 34-ball 61 but Delhi lost their way after he was out and despite fine rearguard efforts by skipper Rishabh Pant (39 not out off 36) and Sarfaraz Khan (36 not out off 28), could manage to post a modest total of 149/3 in 20 overs. Lucknow Super Giants survived a few hiccups of their own after South African opener Quinton de Kock fired 80 off 52 deliveries but managed to reach 155/4 in 19.4 overs thanks to Krunal Pandya (19 not out off 14) and Ayush Badoni (10 not out off 3).
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pant said his team fell short by 10-15 runs. "...As a batting unit, we were 10-15 runs short. We just wanted to give our 100% till the last ball of the 40th over. I think the powerplay was fine, but the main game changed in the middle overs. The spinners bowled well, but we were 10-15 runs short," he said. Ravi Bishnoi (2/22 off four overs) was the most successful bowler for Lucknow while Krishnappa Gowtham (1/23) also picked one wicket. Delhi Capitals will now face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next IPL 2022 match on Sunday.