26-year-old pacer clocked a breathtaking 156.2 kmph while bowling to Jos Buttler in the third over of RR's run-chase against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday
He also lauded debutant pacer Tushar Deshpande who made his debut and picked up the crucial wicket of Ben Stokes along with bowling the final over to defend 21 runs.
The Capitals had beaten RR by 46 runs last week and Steve Smith's men will look to return the compliment when they meet for the second time in the tournament
The 32-year-old Test specialist had played only one of the seven games that the Capitals have played so far, finishing his four overs wicketless for 26 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said that it was just a hamstring strain that has led to soreness which saw the doctor and team management decide against risking Pant
Chasing 163, the defending champions overhauled the target with two balls to spare and claimed the top spot in the points table with five wins from seven matches
Their batting unit, led by Smith and Sanju Samson, was firing in the first two matches. However, these batters are awfully out of form even before the tournament reached the half-way stage.
On Friday evening, Rabada returned with figures of 3/35 in his 3.4 overs and in the process took his tournament tally to 15 to hold onto the Purple Cap. He is followed by Mumbai Indians' Jasprit Bumrah, who has 11 wickets in six games.
The 23-year old Pant has had fair degree of success for Delhi Capitals in the ongoing IPL, having scored 171 runs in five games with a strike-rate of nearly 140