Rishabh Pant puts the P in power-hitting

What did a target of 209 mean to Rishabh Pant? Did he know that only once had an IPL team chased more and won? Or did he think, "Heh, I'd scored more than that on my own seven months ago". Perhaps he simply kept his mind blank, as is necessary to play an innings such as his on Thursday. Ninety-seven runs. Forty-three deliveries. Six fours. Nine sixes.

He has the basics of power-hitting down pat. A stable base. The ability to pick the ball out of the hand which then made the seamer's slower ball - so often the nemesis of those who follow brute force - or the spinner's googly - an equally pesky variation - fair game. And finally, a freakishly fast bat swing. Give him anything in his arc and the blade in his hands is an absolute blur. That is why even his mis-hits go the distance. That is why he is so confident going for the boundaries.

For about 10 minutes, during the change of innings, Delhi Daredevils might just have wondered if they would make the playoffs. The rest of the night, they watched with pride as a 19-year-old rewarded their faith in picking and trusting young players with immense promise.

Ankit Soni had defied the big-hitting Mumbai Indians and a rampaging Ben Stokes to concede only one boundary over his eight overs this season before today. A tall legspinner, his control of line and length has been worthy of much praise. Pant was facing him for the first time in the IPL today. The battle began with a wrong 'un that was safely nudged to midwicket. The next one turning away from the left-hander was dispatched for a six. The reason this shot was so remarkable was - one, Pant picked the variation; two, he found a way to power the ball even though he was nowhere close to the pitch of it. Fast hands. And, this was a six on the off side. This kid is no mere slogger.

"If the ball is there to hit, I'll hit it. I was not thinking I'll get out; if the ball is bad, you have to punish it - that's what I'm doing."
A peek into the mind of Rishabh Pant when he chases a big target

"Crazy clean hitting."
Dale Steyn on Twitter

"One of the best innings I have seen in the IPL and that includes all 10 seasons."
Sachin Tendulkar on Twitter

"We tried everything, we tried slower balls, yorkers, it was reversing later on, but by the time the game was gone."
Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina, who embraced Pant when he was dismissed, despite knowing his own team would soon be knocked out.