Fresh off a half-century, his first since recovering from a life-threatening injury, Rishabh Pant said he always had the self-belief of making a comeback to top-tier cricket.

The Delhi Capitals skipper, who is playing in the IPL after over a year, made a 32-ball 51 against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday as the team powered to their first win this season. He clobbered four boundaries and three maximums, including his trademark hand-off-the-bat six.

“One and a half years...this is something I have built my life on. I still have to keep learning as a cricketer,” Pant, who met with an accident in December 2022, said when asked if he ever thought he might not be able to play such shots again.

“I had self-belief that whatever happens, I have to come back to the ground and I didn’t think about anything else,” he said during the post-match presentation on Sunday.

Pant seemed to struggle a bit initially but he accelerated in the final overs in Visakhapatnam as 43 runs came in the last three overs. “As a cricketer I’ve to give my 100 per cent. Took some time initially as I haven’t played much cricket in the last 1.5 years,” he said.

The captain copped a Rs 12 lakh fine for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 20-run win over the defending champions. This was the team’s first offence of the season, an IPL statement said.