Pant leads by example

During the Capitals' recent struggles, Pant has carried a particularly heavy burden as captain, wicketkeeper, and star batter. This is all after more than a year out of the game due to a car crash. His anguished conversation with umpire Rohan Pandit during the LSG innings, where he unsuccessfully tried to review a wide ball, seemed to suggest that he hadn't reviewed it in the first place. This exchange summed up how things have been going.

After Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Shaw with a superb diving catch in the deep from Nicholas Pooran, Pant played a shrewd innings. Initially ticking along, and with Fraser-McGurk struggling, he advanced down the ground on his 12th delivery to launch Bishnoi for an enormous straight six, following it up with a powerful shot through the covers for four. Two more boundaries came in Marcus Stoinis' over, including an audacious reverse-scoop, to keep DC up with the required run rate before Fraser-McGurk unleashed.

Fraser-McGurk was dismissed after failing to maintain the required run rate. Pant was stumped in the following over while charging at Bishnoi. However, the team had already put in the hard work.