Rishabh Pant failed to set the stage on fire on his comeback as Punjab Kings rallied to stop Delhi Capitals at 174 for nine in their Indian Premier League opener on Saturday.
Batting at number nine, Abhishek Porel top-scored with an unbeaten 32 off just 10 balls and lifted DC to a competitive total after an early batting collapse.
Opting to bowl after winning the toss, Punjab were put under pressure straightaway by the flamboyant Australian opening duo of David Warner (29 off 21 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (20 off 12 balls), who were dealing in fours and sixes.
Marsh worked a poor Sam Curran delivery off his pads for the day's first boundary. Another mediocre offering from Curran was expertly flicked by Marsh for a four and the Capitals were on their way.
Not to be left behind when it comes to playing strokes, Warner pulled left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (2/28) for a six in front of square and then played the bowler between cover-point and cover to find a four.
The flurry of boundaries forced Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan to effect a bowling change but Kagiso Rabada's introduction did little to stem the flow of runs as Marsh pulled a short ball over deep backward square for a big six.
Arshdeep came back and was whacked over long-off for another gigantic six by Marsh.
However, the left-arm seamer had the last laugh as he had Marsh caught by an agile Rahul Chahar at cover point after the batter played a booming drive in the air.
Unperturbed by the departure of his opening partner, Warner continued to play in his usual aggressive fashion, hitting Rabada for a four through mid-off and then sitting down to use the scoop shot for an incredible maximum over shot fine.
Harpreet Brar checked the flow of runs by bowling a fine first over but Chahar started with a 14-run over with Shai Hope hitting the bowler for a six and a four.
Harshal Patel (2/47) got the big wicket of Warner in his first over as comeback man Pant (18 off 13 balls) arrived at the crease to loud applause from the stands.
The weekend crowd acknowledged his tale of perseverance after surviving a horrific car accident in December 2022 with cheers of joy.
Pant got himself a couple of boundaries before walking back to the dugout after a rather soft dismissal off the bowling of Harshal.
Meanwhile, Rabada accounted for the wicket of Hope and Chahar got rid of Tristan Stubbs as Delhi slipped to 128/6 in the 16th over.
