Young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been one of the biggest noticeable positives in a stuttering IPl campaign for Delhi Daredevils.
He was at his best on Wednesday, smashing a 29-ball 69 runs to help the hosts defeat Rajasthan Royals to keep their slim hopes of reaching the play-offs alive.
With the left-hander receiving a lot of plaudits from various corner of the country, the question is whether the 20-year-old is ready for a regular run-in with the senior squadIJ However, Pant plays it down, saying Delhi's IPl matches are the only thing is currently occupying his mind.
"I am not thinking about that right now. I am just playing IPl and I'm just trying to do well in every game for the team. That's all," he said.
On the back of Wednesday's victory, Daredevils have jumped from eight to sixth in the points table. He said curtailing the mistakes from previous matches helped his side register a narrow 4-run victory in a rain-truncated match against Rajasthan.
"Everything is fine from our side. There are small things, we were making mistakes in every match that did not happen this time and we won the match," he said during the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
Pant also downplayed the notion of the Indian players outperforming their foreign counterparts this campaign. The likes of Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell have looked a shadow of their former self and have struggled to set the stage on fire this campaign. Pant, Iyer and lately Shaw have been carrying the majority of the burden of scoring runs for their team this season.
"It's a team game somebody will do good and somebody will not do good that doesn't mean that everyone is not actually contributing. Everyone is doing well and supporting each other," he said when asked whether the Indian players are outperforming their foreign counterparts in their team this season.
Meanwhile Rajasthan Royals' opener D'Arcy Short admitted that every game now is like an elimination match and they can't afford any more mistakes.
"It's a tough loss for us. Chasing 150 from 12 overs was quite a tough task," said the Australian opener, before adding, "We have to win each game now. Each game will be like an elimination game now."
When asked if the rain and a revised target toughen their chances on Wednesday night, Short replied, "Tough to say, there was rain halfway through the game and before the game, I don't think it impacted too much."
The match got delayed by an hour and a half due to rain. Hence, it was reduced to an 18-over affair. When Delhi were at 196/6 in 17.1 overs, rain interrupted again.
After the rain stopped, Rajasthan were set a revised target of 151 in 12 overs. They started strongly, but they fell short by just four runs.
When asked what the team has to do to improve the performance in the upcoming matchesIJ
"We need to have clear plans and stick to our plans and know what to do and kind of back ourselves," said the opener who scored 45 from 25 balls on Wednesday night and was part of a crucial opening-wicket partnership with Jos Buttler (67 off 26 balls), which brought the visitors agonizingly close to the revised target.