Rizvi had come in as the Impact Player at the fall of the second wicket. DC also had the option of bringing in Ashutosh Sharma or Karun Nair. While Ashutosh, a finisher, wasn’t really suited for the situation, Nair had a strong case given his vast experience and the ability to graft an innings. Still, they went with Rizvi.
“Before the season, the coaches had told me they wanted me to play my natural, positive game,” Rizvi said after the match. “I went in with the same intent. But we lost two more wickets in the next over. That put us in a difficult situation.”
Rizvi had to change his plan. In fact, he took nine balls to open his account. “Stubbs and I discussed that there were plenty of overs left and the target was not too big, so we should take some time,” he said.
The idea was to wait for bad deliveries but they were simply not coming. After that four by Stubbs, there was no boundary for the next 19 deliveries. DC crawled to 40 for 4 at the end of seven overs; it would have been worse if not for eight wides and four leg-byes.
The required rate, originally 7.1, was inching towards eight. Then, Anrich Nortje bowled a short ball to Rizvi. The batter arched back and ramped it fine of deep third for a six, ending the boundary drought and keeping the asking rate in check. “It also boosted my confidence and I became a lot more relaxed,” Rizvi said.
Since LSG had brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as Impact Player after their collapse in the first innings, they did not have a fifth frontline bowler. In the tenth over, Rishabh Pant finally introduced Shahbaz into the attack. And Rizvi, living up to his billing as a spin-hitter, took him apart.
He swept Shahbaz’s second ball over short fine leg before cutting and glancing him for two more fours. It felt as if he had pricked the pressure bubble. In all, 16 runs came from that over.
Pant realised his mistake and immediately switched back to his seamers. For the next 21 balls, there was no boundary. It was Rizvi once again who ended the drought. With Aiden Markram looking to target the pads from around the wicket, Rizvi backed away and launched him over wide long-on. Finally, he was batting the way he wanted to.
Markram angled the next ball across the right-hander, only to be cut to the point boundary. That also brought up Rizvi’s half-century, off 37 balls. In the 16th over, he pulled Mohsin for a four and a six off successive deliveries before ending the game with yet another six, this time off Abdul Samad.
Rizvi finished on 70 not out off 47 balls. He hit five fours and four sixes in his innings and was named the Player of the Match. Stubbs, a far more accomplished batter, played second fiddle. His contribution in their unbroken stand of 115 off 76 balls was 39 off 32.
Rizvi represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and benefited from having played a lot of cricket in Lucknow. “You have an idea of boundaries, conditions, atmosphere,” he said.
This is Rizvi’s third IPL season. He was with Chennai Super Kings for IPL 2024 before moving to DC the following year. But he has played only 14 games in the league. A lack of consistency has resulted in a lack of consistent opportunities. Rizvi is aware of this and wants to fix it this time. For that, he could not have started in a better manner.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo