ENDED IN HEARTBREAK, BUT COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD OF TEAM OF EXCEPTIONAL WARRIORS, SAYS PANT

Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant on Thursday said the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 journey for his side ended in heartbreak but he could not be more proud of leading his team of exceptional warriors.

“It ended in heartbreak last night, but I could not be more proud of leading this team of exceptional warriors. We battled hard through the season, and while we may have fallen short on some days, we always gave 100 per cent,” tweeted Pant. In another tweet, the Delhi skipper said: “To the owners, management, staff, my teammates and most importantly, our passionate fans, I want to say thank you from my heart. You all made this season special. We will come back stronger @DelhiCapitals.”

Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill played knocks of 55 and 46 respectively to follow up Varun Chakravarthy’s two-wicket haul as KKR defeated Delhi Capitals by three wickets in Qualifier 2 here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

“Can’t change anything after the match. Always we kept on believing and stayed in the game for as long as possible. The bowlers pulled it back. They bowled really well through the middle overs. We were stuck and unable to rotate the strike. Hopefully, we can come back next year for a stronger season,” Pant had told host broadcaster Star Sports after the game ended.“We played really good cricket throughout the season. We stuck together and cared for each other. Hopefully, we will improve next year and come back strongly,” he added.

As a result of this win, KKR will now lock horns against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2021 final on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium.