NEWS
Follow UsDelhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed fast bowler Anrich Nortje and opening batter David Warner will be available for selection for their next game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday (April 7).
Ponting also remains hopeful that Mitchell Marsh will be fit for the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday (April 10).
While Marsh is recovering from a hip strain Warner was rested from the limited-overs series against Pakistan but was not available to play in the IPL till April 6. "Nortje bowled 100% this morning in the warm-ups," Ponting said.
"I think he has to get through another maybe four or five-over spell at 100% capacity and then I think if he gets clearance from Cricket South Africa, he should be right to go.
"We have got a few more days before our next game [against Lucknow Super Giants on April 7], so hopefully he is available for selection for that one. I think David Warner has arrived in Mumbai. He left early yesterday morning I believe, so he should be there when we get back to Mumbai tonight.
"Mitchell Marsh has been in Mumbai for a few days, obviously getting his quarantine done. I think he might be out of quarantine tomorrow actually.
"We are hoping that he [Marsh] is gonna be available for the game on 10th [against Kolkata Knight Riders]. He picked up that slight hip flexor strain in Pakistan.
"So we need to get a lot of treatment work into him and obviously a few good training sessions before he is available for selection. But fingers crossed, Davey should be there for the next game and Mitch Marsh for the game after."
Chasing 172, DC lost their first game of the tournament when they succumbed to a 14-run loss against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Pune. DC were reduced to 34 for 3 inside five overs and Ponting reckons, those early wickets cost his side in the end.
"On this wicket, on this ground, we thought it was a very, very chaseable total," Ponting said. "Unfortunately for us, for the second game in succession, we were behind the eight-ball early. There were a few too many quite soft dismissals from our batsmen tonight.
"If you are losing three wickets in the powerplay, it's really hard to win games from there," the former Australia skipper said.
"We know that, the stats say that, they have said that right through the history of T20 cricket. That's certainly one area that we got to get better at, getting through that powerplay. None or one down would be a nice start to a run chase."
Ponting further added that losing the game needing 54 from the final six overs with Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell at the crease was disappointing. There probably was a little bit of panic," he said.
"At no stage tonight did the run rate go out of hand and that's what probably makes it a more disappointing loss than it probably looks on the scoreboard. We went down by 15 [14] runs but the [required] run rate never got above 9.5.
"We had Rishabh in the middle of a really good innings. Rovman Powell had just gone out. If those two had been out to bat together for two-three more overs, I think we would have won the game. But we were not good enough to do it."
