In a do-or-die battle for Delhi Capitals, skipper Rishabh Pant’s decision to not take a review against Mumbai Indians batter Tim David after he nicked the first ball proved to be the biggest turning point as DC were eliminated from IPL 2022.
Delhi needed a win in their last league encounter to qualify for the playoffs but they suffered a five-wicket defeat with Mumbai chasing down a 160 run target with five balls to spare.
Rishabh Pant did not take the DRS against Tim David despite feeling the batter had nicked the ball.
With MI at 95/3 in 14.3 overs, David edged the first ball of his innings off Shardul Thakur. The on-field umpire gave him not out and Pant went along with the decision. However, he was soon seen shaking his head in disappointment after watching the replays on the giant screen.
Talking about the incident after the match, Pant said: “I thought there was something. Everyone standing in the circle wasn’t convinced and at the end I didn’t go up.”
David went on to score 34 off 11, hitting four sixes. He brought down the equation to 15 off 14 balls before Ramandeep Singh finished the job for Mumbai.
Reflecting on the loss and the season, Pant added: “For most of the game we were on top. On occasions, we let the game slip away from our grasp when we were on top. That’s what we were doing throughout the season. Not good enough to win this match I guess. It’s not about pressure. We could have done better execution and planning. Learn from mistakes and come back stronger next year.”
Delhi’s defeat allowed Royal Challengers Bangalore to qualify for the playoffs as the four-placed team.
