Smart Stats: Rishabh Pant the obvious choice for Player of the Match

Rishabh Pant contributed 32% more than anyone else to Delhi Capitals' win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2019 Eliminator. This is according to ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats, which shows the true value of performances in the game by taking into account match situation and relative strike rates among other factors. While ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats validate Rishabh Pant as the official choice for the Player of the Match for his 21-ball 49, what they also do is ascribe a number to the value of Pant's contribution to Capitals' win. Pant's contribution is valued at 36.3%, almost nine percentage points (or 32%) more than Prithvi Shaw's 38-ball 56, which is valued second-highest at 27.5%.

Pant's 49 runs were worth 60 according to Smart Stats, given the situation in which he scored his runs. With Capitals needing 52 from the last five overs, Pant hit 37 off the last 13 balls he faced, helping Capitals knock Sunrisers out.

Amit Mishra made the next-best contribution to Capitals' cause after Pant and Shaw. Introduced after the Powerplay, by when Sunrisers were 54 for 1, Mishra struck immediately by dismissing a threatening Martin Guptill. He bowled out his full quota on the trot without conceding a boundary. His four overs went for just 16 runs and by the time he finished, Sunrisers had added just 34 in seven overs after the Powerplay. Smart Stats values Mishra's contribution as the third-best for Capitals at 20.2%.

Smart Stats is a part of Superstats, a new set of metrics by ESPNcricinfo to tell more enriching and insightful numbers-based stories. To know more about Superstats, click here.