Pant hit a magnificent 97 off 43 balls with six boundaries and nine huge sixes as Delhi Daredevils chased down a mammoth target of 209 in 17.3 overs to beat Gujarat Lions by seven wickets in their IPL match here last night.
Asked about his intent of hitting the very second ball bowled to him by Basil Thampi for a six, Pant's answer was as uncomplicated as his batting.
"If the ball is there to be hit, I will hit it. If a bad ball is bowled, you have to punish it. Rahul Dravid told me to play my normal game without thinking too much," the 19-year- old said in a matter-of-fact manner.
"I was not thinking about those three runs. I was only thinking about chasing the target as quickly as possible. It's like had I been there to chase down the target, I would have got those three runs. And if I would have got those three runs, I would have chased the target," the teenager said.
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He admitted that promotion in the batting order enabled him to plan his innings as he got to face more deliveries.
He came into the IPL on the back of a tremendous domestic season, which included a triple hundred, but he said he does not like to compare those innings.
"I don't rate any of my innings. I play this game for the love of it," he replied when asked if this was his best knock at the senior level.
"We have decided to take one match at a time. We don't want to look too far ahead," he said.