Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant on Saturday (October 2) hailed fast bowler Avesh Khan as the find of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) for his team.

Pant’s comment came after DC’s thrilling four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Sharjah. Avesh returned with the remarkable bowling figures of 3 for 15 in the game and the right-arm pacer now has 21 wickets to his name in the IPL 2021.

"Avesh is the find of the season for us. But at Delhi Capitals, we learn from our mistakes and pick up. We have to solidify our batting. Stoinis should be fine in a few days, and that will be good for us," said Pant during the post-match presentation.

Opting to bowl first, DC restricted MI to 129/8 in 20 overs. Apart from Avesh, left-arm spinner Akshar Patel also claimed three scalps by conceding 21 runs in his four overs.

In reply, however, Delhi batters found it tough and they were reduced to 65/4 after 10 overs. Thanks to Shreyas Iyer’s run-a-ball 33* and R Ashwin’s 20*, the Capitals got over the line with five balls to spare.

Pant termed the victory against the defending champions as hard-fought and also explained his team’s bowling strategy.

"In Sharjah, the wicket always plays differently. Yes, it's a hard-fought victory. We were planning to bowl mostly the fast bowlers in the powerplay. Easier for the spinner in these tracks. I held back one over of Ashwin to keep him away from Pollard and Hardik," he said.

Commenting on his aggressive knock of 26, Pant said, "You can't always go for it, but someone has to be aggressive in the powerplay."

With this win, Delhi Capitals became the second team after Chennai Super Kings to qualify for the IPL 2021 playoffs. They will face CSK in their next game on Monday (October 4) in Dubai.

(With ANI inputs)