KKR wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik was saved by millimetres from getting hit on his face during the match against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah.
The incident happened on the first delivery of the 17th over which was being bowled by Varun Chakravarthy when the DC captain tried to slash the delivery aggressively but the ball took the inside edge and was going towards the stumps when the left-hander wildly swung his bat in order to keep it away from the woodwork behind him.
But Pant totally missed the ball and almost hit Karthik who had stepped up a couple of yards with his bat. It fortunately didn’t hit the KKR wicket-keeper and Pant was quick enough to make the apologies.
The Kolkata side defeated DC by three wickets while chasing a target of 128 runs in 20 overs. The Knight Riders lost wickets at regular intervals but it was Nitish Rana who held the fort from one end and was later joined by Sunil Narine in the middle as the team score read 96/5.
The two batsmen then stitched an important partnership of 26 runs for the sixth wicket before Narine was undone for a 10-ball 21. Rana remained unbeaten at 36 off 27 to take his side home and give them an important win.
For Delhi Capitals, it was Avesh Khan who was the pick of the bowlers after he returned with a three-wicket haul at the cost of 13 runs in 3 overs.
Earlier, DC were restricted to 127/9 in 20 overs. Opener Steve Smith scored 39 off 34 while captain Pant also struck 39 in 36 deliveries while Shikhar Dhawan was the third batter to cross the double-figure mark.
Lock Ferguson, Narine and Venkatesh Iyer picked up a couple of wickets each during the course. KKR now have 10 points from 11 matches that they have played so far.