NEWS
Follow UsDelhi Capitals head coach, Ricky Ponting reflected on the errors on their part which led to a three-wicket defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals on Thursday (April 15) at the Wankhede Stadium.
Delhi were defending a modest total of 147 but started in a relentless fashion, succumbing Rajasthan to 42 for five by the 10th over mark. R Ashwin came on to bowl the 11th over but that surprisingly turned out to be the off-spinner’s last over of the night, despite having one left of his four-over quota.
Ponting underlined the same after the match. "That's certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team", said Ponting.
In a low-scoring game, Ashwin could not find a wicket for himself but was tight with his line and length, thus conceding only 14 runs in three overs. His economy of 4.7 runs per over was the best by a Delhi bowler on the day.
“He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn’t even conceded a boundary. He had a disappointing game in game one, but he has worked really hard in the last few days to make sure he adjusted and got things right in this game”, said Ponting acknowledging Ashwin’s contribution.
The fact that Ashwin was not recalled during the crucial 48-run stand (post the 11th over) between the two left-handers - David Miller and Rahul Tewatia - was even more surprising. Rishabh Pant instead gave an over to Marcus Stoinis, who conceded 15 in the over, which gave a boost to Rajasthan’s run-rate.
“I thought he bowled beautifully tonight. Probably a mistake on our behalf, and something we will be talking about later on,” Ponting added further.
The former Australian cricketer also talked about Axar Patel’s absence in the side. The bowling all-rounder was tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the tournament and is still on recovery mode. Delhi played Kagiso Rabada and Lalit Yadav, with Amit Mishra and Shimron Hetmyer making way for them.
“At the moment with Axar Patel not available for selection, our balance is out a little bit, so we tried to sort of mix and match things a little bit today. We also wanted to give Lalit Yadav an opportunity and show us what he’s capable of in the middle”, explained Ponting.
Ponting also spoke about the heart of the matter - the “slot balls” at the back end. "We probably gave him [Morris] a few too many easy balls, a few too many slot balls if you like," said the Delhi coach.
"The length wasn't quite where it needed to be. If you look at the replay of the game, if you bowled a reasonable yorker, he didn't score off them. If it was back of a length, sort of, above stump high, he didn't get hold of them either, especially with pace on the ball. We talked about how to bowl to him, but the execution probably wasn't there.”
"The other thing you have got to factor in is just how wet and how dewy the ball was in the second innings of the game. It wasn't easy for the bowlers to grip. You could see it at the end there. There were a few full tosses that fast bowlers bowled with the ball slipping out of their hand a little bit. That's part and parcel of IPL cricket. We knew coming here that there will be a little bit of dew in the second half of the game. And we didn't adapt, and we didn't execute as well as we could have tonight”, Ponting concluded.
Ishant has a heel niggle
Ponting also revealed that experienced fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who missed his team's first two IPL matches, is suffering from a heel niggle. The 32-year-old, who was retained by Delhi ahead of the IPL auction, missed the games against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which paved the way for 24-year-old pacer Avesh Khan's selection in the team.
"Coming into the first game, Ishant Sharma obviously had a heel niggle that we have been trying to work through," Ponting said during a virtual press-conference after DC's three-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday night. Ishant had suffered an abdominal muscle tear during his only match for DC in the last edition. He was ruled out of the rest of that IPL in UAE and also the ensuing Test series against Australia.
After recovering, the fast bowler made a successful comeback in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, taking five wickets. He also played the four Tests against England, capturing six wickets. With Ishant missing out, Avesh provided Delhi Capitals the early breakthroughs, claiming five wickets in the last two games and Ponting was "ultra" impressed with him.
"He has grabbed his opportunities with both hands. He has been around this franchise for few years now but hasn't got the opportunities that he has been craving for. "... if you have an Indian fast bowler like him and then you have the likes of (Chris) Woakes, (Anrich) Nortje, (Kagiso) Rabada, and (Tom) Curran and those guys around then we end up with a real strong fast bowling brigade."
(With inputs from PTI)