Pant blames suspension for costly playoff miss

We'd have a better chance of qualifying if I had played against RCB: Rishabh Pant

Skipper Rishabh Pant reckons his one-match suspension probably cost Delhi Capitals a spot in the IPL playoffs as they would have had a better chance of winning the crucial game if he was on the field.

Pant had to sit out the must-win clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday after he was handed a one-match suspension for a third slow-over rate offence.

Not only did DC lose the game but the 47-run defeat also impacted their net run rate and now they have to sit and wait for the other teams to play out their matches to find out if they have qualified for the play offs or not.

"I wouldn't say we would have definitely won the game if I had played. But we had a better chance of qualifying if I would have had a chance to play in the last game," Pant said after DC's 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants.

DC endured an inconsistent run in the beginning of the season but made a late charge towards the end of the season to strengthen their chances of making it to the knockouts.

Injuries to veteran pacers Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and opener David Warner didn't help their cause either.

"We started the season with a lot of hope, but there were injuries, and ups and downs. But as a franchise, you can't complain all the time; you have to make use of what you have... There are some things which you can control, but some things which you can't."

Losing skipper KL Rahul said that loss of wickets in the powerplay throughout the season has prevented LSG from utilising big-hitters like Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran.

"This has been a problem right through the season - we keep losing a lot of wickets in the powerplay, we never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in, that is the big reason why we are in this position." he said. 

• IPL 2024