"There is a lot of out of the box thinking" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Rishabh Pant's captaincy against Punjab Kings

Sanjay Manjrekar and Carlos Brathwaite hailed Rishabh Pant's leadership amid the Delhi Capitals' nine-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings in Mumbai. According to the IPL timetable, the two IPL teams clashed on Wednesday, April 20, at the Brabourne Stadium.

Manjrekar feels the current edition of the IPL has seen plenty of out-of-the-box thinking and said that he witnessed that in Pant's mindset in Wednesday's game.

Delhi Capitals registered a convincing victory over the Punjab Kings by restricting them to 115 after electing to bowl first. David Warner and Prithvi Shaw blazed away, stringing together a 83-run opening stand. The Capitals won with more than nine overs to spare.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Manjrekar said that IPL 2022 has seen captains think outside the box, including understanding players' limitations.

Manjrekar observed how Pant handled Shardul Thakur after the Punjab Kings tried to attack him and used the spinners to strangle the opposition.

"We're seeing some good captaincy. I'm happy Carlos brought out that aspect because that is something to talk about. Forget about what happened. But there is a lot of out of the box thinking, lot of knowing your players, limitations and getting them to perform accordingly. You got Shardul Thakur, who can swing the ball. Let's get some value out of Shardul Thakur."

"They had a slip and a third slip. He was bowling outside the off-stump, outswing. Mayank Agarwal played him. There was one streaky shot, but they were trying to make the most of Shardul Thakur. Once he was done, the others came in and got the wickets. They didn't feel the need to go back to him."

Manjrekar added:

"That is what I'm loving this year's IPL. They're staying in the moment, being very pragmatic and not getting too carried away by what's happening in the past. Wanindu Hasaranga, being the game-changer and bowling just two overs the other night. All that is wonderful to see. The evolution of the IPL. I think the coaches and captains are also understanding the limitations of players, so all that is good while we have this debacle here. Exceptional leadership."

The spinners yielded six wickets for the Capitals as Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav took two each. Kuldeep Yadav won the 'Man of the Match' award for his 4-0-24-2.

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Carlos Brathwaite offers his insights on Rishabh Pant's captaincy

Carlos Brathwaite. (Image Credits: Getty)

West Indies veteran all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite said Rishabh Pant's tactics for specific batters were brave and felt getting Liam Livingstone's wicket was a massive moment.

Lauding how the Capitals skipper utilized the spinners, Brathwaite said:

"If you look at Rishabh Pant as well, the captaincy decisions to bowl Lalit Yadav. It almost felt as though if Mayank was on strike, Axar would bowl, if Shikhar was on strike, Lalit Yadav would bowl. It was Lalit Yadav, who eventually got the wicket. Then Axar Patel came in the powerplay and took the wicket of Liam Livingstone. So, I think as much as collectively the bowlers executed, the planning and the bravery of Rishabh Pant, especially bowl the spinners when he did was a massive take for me."

With their fourth loss, the Punjab Kings have slid to eighth position in the IPL points table 2022 with six points in seven games. In contrast, the Capitals are sixth with the same number of points, having played a game less.