We are a long way off right now : Ponting

Delhi Capitals always had a combination issue to deal with after Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the Indian Premier League, but no one envisaged that it would come down to three losses in three games. After losing their third game of the season, that too convincingly, things look rather pale for Delhi. 

Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting is a disappointed man for the kind of result his side have managed so far, as the Australian asked for some “soul-searching” ahead of their next game against Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on April 11. 

“We are a long way off right now. I can’t put my finger on why. Because when I watch these boys train and prepare and their work has been great. It just hasn’t come off in the field. We need to do little soul-searching. We are on three defeats from three games and you can’t afford to get off to a bad start in the IPL,” said Ponting.

Delhi were two down without any run on the board, thanks to Trent Boult’s super double-wicket maiden, which created a challenge for them to cover up later. Ponting acknowledged that while admitting, they conceded too many runs with the ball upfront. 

“It [PowerPlay struggles] is something we have talked about. In the first few games, we lost wickets towards the end of the PowerPlay. Today was completely different. We were two down in the first over, and we were back to the wall from there.”

“You look at our first two overs. They were 32/0. It says to me that our execution with the ball was below what it needed to be. If you put together the first two overs of both the innings, it is hard to get back from there,” Ponting added.