Rishabh Pant bagged another low score after having made 70 in one of the four matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Pant made 24 as Delhi imploded and lost to Odisha by a margin of 79 runs.
India star batter Rishabh Pant was dismissed cheaply as Delhi suffered a big loss to Odisha in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26. Pant was in focus as the BCCI selectors are set to pick India’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, which gets underway from January 11. But the swashbuckling wicketkeeper batter failed to impress as he was dismissed for 24 in Delhi’s unsuccessful run-chase of 273 in Alur. Odisha won the match by 79 runs.
Delhi imploded as they were bowled out for just 193 in 43.3 overs in the chase after Odisha were sent in to bat first.
Delhi’s innings this season have largely revolved around a single substantial batting effort, with Virat Kohli turning up on two occasions. On Wednesday, the absence of such a performance proved costly, as they not only lost the match but also surrendered their top spot on the points table — a slip that could haunt them as the tournament unfolds.
It was also the first time this season that Delhi failed to cross the 200-run mark, a target that had looked well within reach earlier when Kohli struck a century against Andhra in the opener and opener Priyansh Arya followed it up with a fine 78 against Saurashtra.
Pant had previously scored 5, 70 and 22 with that 70 being the highlight of his season so far. However, he could manage just 24 off 28 balls in the fourth match before being dismissed by pacer Debabrata Pradhan (3/28). Pradhan, along with the young right-arm seamer Sambit Baral (3/34), triggered a dramatic collapse.
Earlier, Odisha put up a fightable total of 272 with veteran skipper Biplab Samantray anchoring the innings with a compiled 72 off 74 balls after the side lost three wickets before reaching 100. The lower order chipped in with handy contributions to frustrate the Delhi bowlers, led by India internationals Navdeep Saini and Nitish Rana, although off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen impressed with figures of 4/27 from 10 overs.
Delhi’s chase began disastrously as openers Priyansh Arya and Sarthak Ranjan fell for single-digit scores, leaving the team reeling at 6 for 2. Pant’s dismissal soon reduced them to 50 for 3 in the 11th over, which quickly worsened to 55 for 5.