Pant is the best finisher among youngsters: Shaw

Visakhapatnam: Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw heaped praises on teammate Rishab Pant, calling him the best finisher among youngsters after the 21-year-old helped Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by two wickets in a nerve-wracking IPL Eliminator here.

Chasing a target of 163, Delhi Capitals, who had lost the way after a blazing start, were brought to cusp of victory by Pant, who smashed 49 off 21 balls with five sixes even as West Indies' Keemo Paul finished it off in the penultimate ball of the innings with a boundary off Khaleel Ahmed on Wednesday night.

"In these T20 games, there's a lot of pressure. I was praying that we win. Pant did a brilliant job. I have said that he is the best finisher among the young players. He always opens up the game for us. He has been doing very well. Unfortunately, he could not finish it for us, but Keemo did well in the end," Shaw said at the post match press conference. He also pointed out that Amit Mishra's single run was an important one.

The 19-year-old said it was important for him to get back into form after a few bad games. Shaw top-scored with 56 off 38 balls on a "sticky wicket" to give Delhi a great start. "First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen. It was a bit difficult to pull the ball. Since their bowlers were bowling cutters on a sticky wicket, it was not pulling."