Chennai: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting believes they have more space in the middle overs while chasing a target of 168 in their IPL 16 match against Chennai Super Kings here. Playing the ball took a toll on his team.
Chasing a score of 167 for eight against the Superkings (CSK), the Delhi team suffered a 27-run defeat against the four-time champions. Ponting told reporters after the match, “We lost three quick wickets and then the spinners came to bowl … We didn’t show any readiness against the spinners.”
He said, “Played around 34 empty balls in the middle overs… If there are so many empty balls in the middle overs, you can never win chasing any score.” The former Australia captain also regrets the fact that many times in the current season his team has lost wickets in the very first over.
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Ponting (Ricky Ponting) said, “I think this was the fifth, sixth or maybe seventh time this season when we lost the wicket in the first over of the match. Once we lost two wickets in the first over of the match. This is clearly an area where we are not doing it right. Obviously where we lost the match. Ponting said that out-of-form Prithvi Shaw has been dropped from the XI as he hasn’t lived up to the team’s expectations.
He said, “Prithvi… the fact that he is not playing is an indication that he has not performed the way we wanted him to. So far no one has grabbed this opportunity with both hands. Meanwhile, Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said he was happy with the team’s batsmen playing short but effective innings and it was a reflection of how the game is being played.
He said, “I think it is a reflection of how the game is being played. We have asked the players to play more risky shots and the way you build an innings is a bit different so I am happy with short but effective innings.
Fleming said, “If you try to score more than a competitive score, then the players have to come to the crease and play more aggressively and with that there will be mistakes, but you saw again today that a wicket of 160 runs is worth 175-180 runs.” The wicket turned around because we had positive intent in our partnerships and the players were aggressive.
About captain Dhoni, Fleming said, “He is just training in a certain way. He knows he is not going to bat for long and we have a lot of batsmen ahead of him. So he has really concentrated on the last three overs. He has focused on a lot of strong hitting drills and you can see the benefits of that.”