The moment Rishabh Pant has longed for since December 30, 2022 arrived at 4.06 pm on March 23, 2024, in little-known Mullanpur. David Warner had gloved an attempted hook off a slower bouncer from Harshal Patel and was walking back, but the ongoing review process extended the wait. Yards away from Warner on the other side of the boundary, was Pant, ready to take his first steps on a cricket field in a competitive match since surviving a car crash 15 months ago.
As Pant started his walk to the middle, he was introduced as the new batter over the public address system. The whole crowd - the ground was more than half full, with thousands still outside because of the security process - stood up to celebrate Pant's return. It wasn't a visceral roar but it was wholesome. The non-striker Shai Hope also punched his bat with a gloved hand a few times to welcome his captain.
A large number of fans had travelled from neighbouring towns and cities in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and, of course, Delhi. A few wearing navy blue 'Pant 777' t-shirts braved the harsh afternoon sun in anticipation of a Pant special, which the Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting had predicted, having observed how zealously his captain had been training in the week leading up to today.
Pant took guard on leg stump. The Punjab Kings left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar angled the ball away from his reach, forcing Pant to stretch and reach to connect. Having had his knee ligaments reconstructed, it's an area he's going to be tested, in addition to throws coming to his end while running between the wickets. Pant refused to run a double twice in his first six deliveries.
Such caution is understandable as he is taking small steps back after a severe injury. On 4, Pant pulled a long hop from legspinner Rahul Chahar straight to deep midwicket, where Harshal Patel was blinded by the sun and couldn't catch it. His second boundary was a cover drive, off Harshal, but Pant's innings ended soon after.
A slower offcutter from Harshal climbed towards Pant's head and his predetermined ramp ended up in backward point's hands. He rapped his pads, berating himself. His first innings in his second innings as a cricketer lasted 23 minutes and ended on 18 off 13 balls, but it had its moments.
The Capitals finished with 174 and then came Pant's bigger challenge: keeping wickets and making decisions as captain in the fast and furious pace of T20 cricket. He was up for it, even after losing one of his four specialist bowlers Ishant Sharma to an ankle injury.
Ask batters to pick the chirpiest wicketkeeper around and Pant is likely to be high on their list. Part of his talkativeness may be to wind up the batters, but he also does it to motivate and guide his bowlers.
Pant has kept wicket to Kuldeep Yadav at both India and DC, and shares a rapport with the left-arm wristspinner. Throughout Kuldeep's four-over spell against Punjab, Pant rarely kept silent, and some of that chat came through on the stump microphones. "Lamba maarne dee usko" (let him hit long), "theek dal raha hain, khlulke daal (you are bowling well. Relax and bowl freely)," Pant said in Kuldeep's first two overs as Prabhsimran Singh and Sam Curran were batting.
Prabhsimran's aggressive intent was evident, and Pant wanted Kuldeep to relax. "Tu hi hain. Milega (You are our only hope. It [the wicket] will come)," were Pant's words the ball before Kuldeep had Prabhsimran caught in the deep. Not just to Kuldeep, Pant's message to his team was to keep believing, even as Punjab took control of the chase. You could hear him saying "put in the energy".
Pant's biggest strength was his fearlessness, and the question was whether he would still be fearless. He did not hesitate to stretch or dive behind the stumps, and attempted two stumpings, successfully dismissing Jitesh Sharma with the second attempt.
On the eve of the Capitals' season opener against Punjab, Ponting had described Pant as the "heartbeat" of the team. While the result did not go his way, Pant was pulsing with energy, and achieved what many feared he may never do again. Play cricket.