How Rishabh Pant went backwards as IPL scoring skyrocketed

“One of the best innings I have seen in the IPL”

Delhi, 2017. The Daredevils (yet to change to the Capitals) came out to chase 209 against the Gujarat Lions. That does not seem massive in 2026, but at that point there had been only one higher successfully chased target in the IPL.

None of that seemed to deter Pant – still a teenager – who walked out at 24-1 in the third over. The whirlwind of boundaries did not even last an hour. And yet, as Pant peeled himself off the crease towards the pavilion, GL captain Suresh Raina approached the youngster to give him a pat.

Pant hit six fours and nine sixes in his 43-ball 97 that day. When he left, he had reduced an impossible-for-the-era chase to 30 in 33 balls. DD romped home with 15 balls to spare. They scored at 12.22 an over: until the introduction of the Impact Player in 2023, no team has chased an IPL target as big while scoring as fast.

Sachin Tendulkar did not hesitate to rate it as among the best IPL innings he had seen. Tendulkar’s tweet – much like a cricket fan’s – was accompanied by a photograph of a television screen.

This was far from being Pant’s only memorable innings in his first phase in the IPL. Between 2016 and 2019, he struck at 156 in the IPL while averaging 33. Since then, his strike rate has dropped to 134, as has his average, to 29.6.

It is not that he is batting deeper, anchoring the innings. He gets out every 22 balls in the 2020s – that has not changed (it used to be 21 in the 2010s). He is simply scoring at a slower rate and hence getting fewer runs.

Rishabh Pant vs the rest in the IPL, by year

Updated until May 10, 2026

Pant has gone from strength to strength in Test cricket in the new decade. His IPL performances, on the other hand, paint a different picture. He had ordinary years in 2020 and 2022, punctuated by the high of 2021. But when 2023 returned with the Impact Player, Pant was still recovering from his horrific car crash. When he returned to the fold, the IPL had moved away from him – and he is struggling to catch up.

After impressing in England and Australia, Pant’s Test match credentials had been established within a year of his debut. By early 2019, the world seemed to be his oyster. Yet, within a year, Pant assumed into a curiously conservative avatar that seems almost counterintuitive, given his natural high-risk Test match batting. And there is a pattern to this.

Rishabh Pant vs the rest: By career and innings phase

Updated until May 10, 2026

One can see the pattern. Between 2016 and 2019, Pant used to score as quickly as the others in the powerplay and raised the bar in the middle overs. In the next three years, he lost the middle-overs advantage. Now, he is unable to keep up in the powerplay – never a good thing for someone who bats in the top three.

In an era when anchors were still a thing in the IPL, Pant used to be one of the quickest starters during the middle overs (overs 7-16), which form half a team’s innings but is also the slowest phase. The field spread out during this phase, but he still managed to score quickly.

Between 2020 and 2022, the other batters caught up with Pant in the middle overs. He was still scoring at a decent rate, but he did not stand out. And when he returned after 2023, batting in the IPL had changed too drastically.

Rishabh Pant vs the rest in the middle overs

Strike rate off the first 10 balls faced. Updated until May 10, 2026.

Source: Rahul Iyer.

While Pant starting off quicker than he used to in the middle overs, he is no longer the demon he used to be. In the 12-16 overs phase, in fact, he has been left behind.

Not making the cut?

This brings us to a question. Sure, Pant may not be among the fastest starters (or scorers) in the league anymore. If that means he does not take enough risks early on, why are his innings only as long as before and not significantly longer?

It is difficult to answer that question, but the answer may lie in Pant’s ordinary T20 record when he tries to cut short-pitched balls. The cut gets him out in Test cricket as well, but not as often. It also fetches him runs, because of the fielding positions.

Rishabh Pant off short-pitched pace bowling

Updated until May 10, 2026. B/D = Balls/dismissal.

Source: CricViz.

It is not that the short ball gets him out. As is evident, his pulls are dangerously effective (and a treat to watch). But the cut almost always brings about his demise in T20 cricket. And even when it does not, the shot does not fetch him quick runs the way the hook or the pull does. Thus, after the now-slow 10-ball starts, the cut is not among his most effective strokes to get going.

Pant’s gifts as a batter are beyond doubt. What is more, his life and career bear testimony to his ability to turn things around. In his dual role as wicketkeeper and batter, he has already mastered Test cricket in a way very few have.

It is now time to find a way to do justice to that most expensive player tag, in the most expensive cricket league.