NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting aimed to boost the morale of his team following a narrow four-wicket loss to Punjab Kings in their recent Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter. Despite the setback, Ponting emphasised that there's no need for drastic changes, as they were "almost there" in all aspects of the game during that match.
In the match at Mullanpur, a crucial half-century by Sam Curran, supported by his 67-run partnership with Liam Livingstone, propelled Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a hard-fought four-wicket victory over DC. This match also marked the return of Rishabh Pant to the field. Sam Curran's impactful performance earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.
In a video by Delhi Capitals, Ponting said, "Bad luck. As far as I am concerned, it was a day when we were almost there. We were almost good with the bat. Everyone was good with the bat, skills were there, the start was there. Bison and Davey (Mitchell Marsh and David Warner) had an awesome start. Shai (Shai Hope) played really well. In the middle overs, we lost four quick wickets, the momentum went out of the innings. Without Abhishek (Abhishek Porel) at the end, we would have got 145, which would have been below-par on that wicket."
"We were almost good with the ball. The execution was not quite there. Axar and Kuldeep were outstanding. It is a long tournament. I would have loved to win one today, but keep the attitude up, love the feel around the place. Nothing changes after one game," he added.
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Ponting awarded the dressing room 'Player of the Match' honours to spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his two crucial wickets and to Abishek Porel for his impactful cameo of 32 runs off just 10 balls towards the end of the innings.
In the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to field first against DC. Despite fiery starts from David Warner (29 off 21 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (20 off 12 balls), DC faltered in the middle overs.
Pant contributed 18 runs off 13 balls in his comeback game. However, a late explosive innings from Abhishek Porel, scoring 32 runs off 10 balls, propelled DC to a total of 174/9 in their 20 overs.
In response, PBKS started well with contributions from Shikhar Dhawan (22 off 16 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (26 off 17 balls). However, it was the partnership between Sam Curran (63 off 47 balls) and Liam Livingstone (38* off 23 balls) that guided PBKS to a four-wicket victory.
Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed were the standout bowlers for DC, while Sam Curran was awarded the 'Player of the Match'.
(With ANI inputs)
