IPL 2021: Trying to 'groom him,' Rishabh Pant hails young Lalit Yadav after DC's win over MI

Rishabh Pant praised young Lalit Yadav, saying he is a talented young player they are trying to "groom" after leading Delhi Capitals (DC) to a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Tuesday.

DC's 24-year-old batters Yadav and Shimron Hetmyer helped Delhi cross the line successfully during their chase of 139 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. DC sealed the game with six wickets and five balls to spare to jump to second place in the IPL 2021 points table.

While DC and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are level on points, the latter still have a game in hand.

"When we started we were little under pressure. Mishy bhai got us into the game. Bowlers did a great job to restrict them to 136. We like to take it into the ground, take one match at a time. He's a great Indian player we're trying to groom (Lalit Yadav). Can do wonders on pitches like these. What we've learnt is if you keep wickets in hand you can chase any target," Pant said after DC's win over MI on Monday.

MI captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat. The five-time champions had a poor start to their innings as they lost Quinton de Kock in the third over. Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav put up 58 runs for the second wicket. The Delhi bowlers never allowed any other batsman to stick around for a long time following Suryakumar's dismissal at 67 for 2.

Delhi's veteran spinner Amit Mishra was named the Player of the Match for picking up four wickets. He dismissed all the crucial batsmen from Mumbai's line-up: Rohit, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, and Kieron Pollard, during his spell of 4 for 24 in four overs.

"Just tried to bowl good areas, just try to take wickets. Different bowlers have a different style. My style is to bowl in the air. Don't want to change much. Sometimes the speed maybe. I try to understand the wicket and bowl like that. They are winners for MI and so I always go for wickets against these guys initially. I was worried but I knew our batters are smart enough. They have some experience now after playing two matches here," Mishra said in a post-match interview after Delhi's win.

Even MI were off to a great start with the ball as they remove Delhi's opening batsman Prithvi Shaw for five-ball seven in the second over. However, Steve Smith brought DC back into the game with his cameo of 33 off 29 balls, including four boundaries. Shikhar Dhawan, who currently holds the Orange Cap, further extended the gap by scoring 45 off 42 balls.

Talking about the win in the post-match interview, Dhawan said it was totally opposite to Wankhede, where they registered their previous two victories in the ongoing tournament.

"We are feeling great to win in Chennai, feels good when you can beat a team like Mumbai Indians, the confidence level will naturally go high. We knew that it would be tough for them when the ball gets wet, the spinners would find it hard, wanted to keep the partnerships going, strung together a good stand with Lalit (Yadav), a bit disappointed at not having finished it off. But glad that we ended up winning the game, the way we played, I think we deserved to win," added Dhawan.

In the end, Yadav and Hetymer held their nerves to help Delhi clinch their third win in the IPL 2021. The West Indian struck two boundaries, including one in the final over, as he remained not out on 14 off 9. Yadav, on the other hand, hit a four in his knock of 22 off 25.

DC have a four-day gap before their next fixture in the tournament, which is against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday in Chennai. MI, meanwhile, have a break for two days before their upcoming game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday, in Chennai as well.