"We have been lucky throughout the season as we haven't had to make too many changes": DC coach Ricky Ponting
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting heaped praise on his side and feels they are in good stead ahead of the playoffs. In a video posted by the franchise's official Twitter handle, Ricky Ponting hailed their collective performance leading up to the playoffs.
Despite their defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday, Delhi Capitals ended the league stage at the top. The Capitals will take on the Chennai Super Kings in their first qualifier on Sunday. Ponting remained unfazed by their loss to the RCB.
"We have played good cricket. The challenge now for us over the next week is to play great cricket."
@RickyPonting reflects on last night's loss, positives from the game and league stage's analysis after #RCBvDC 😍
#YehHaiNayiDilli #IPL2021 #DCSpecials @OctaFX @sofiteldxbpalm https://t.co/JhuQyoCXyd
Ricky Ponting feels a lot of their success is down to their strong core and bench strength. Ponting credited the joint effort and observed that different players have stepped up in different situations to justify their roles. The 46-year old former Australian captain said in this regard:
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"I think we have been a bit lucky throughout the season as we haven't had to make too many changes. We have a pretty solid core group of players together. Shreyas coming back in was a huge boost to the team and Nortje for the back half of the season when Woakes hasn't been around. He has been a standout player for us.
'So, we haven't had to make too many changes. The sign of a team is not about one or two great players. It's about 11 players on the field and they all chip in to do what they need to when the team needs them to do the most and we've been out of finding the number of guys you see to do that."
Ricky Ponting mainly lauded the top-order's performance, pointing out that Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant have scored runs consistently. He thinks the lack of individual awards for the Capitals signifies that they rely on collective efforts. Ponting explained:
"Hetmyer has been amazing, chipping in where he's had to. The captain's got nearly 400 runs and Shikhar's got 500 odd runs and Prithvi is getting close up to 400 runs now. We have shared the loadout really well.
'And I think in another way you can judge that as well, if you look at some of the awards and things that are given through the teams, you don't see many Delhi Capitals players in that because we have been sharing out the load. It's not about one player. We're playing like a team and I think it's a really good sign for us."
Dhawan has been their best batter, scoring 544 runs in 14 games this season at 41.84. The southpaw's opening partnership with Shaw has been one of the significant reasons for their success.
"A loss at this time in the tournament is not the worst thing that can happen": Ricky Ponting
When asked about the team's performance in the league stage, the Tasmanian was delighted and felt that their defeat to the RCB hardly meant anything. He was confident the Capitals would be up for the challenge against Chennai.
"Very happy. I think if someone had offered any of us at the start of the tournament, we would have grabbed it with both hands. I've been pretty happy about it. We have played some really good cricket right through the first 14 games. If we look back at all the games that we played, the four games we have lost, you could probably say that we could have won all four of those as well.
'I am delighted. In fact, I told the boys that a loss at this time in the tournament is not the worst thing that can happen either. It gives us a chance to reset and ensure we are ready to go for the qualifier against Chennai. So far so good."
Delhi Capitals have endured only four losses throughout the group stage, with all of them going down the wire. Rishabh Pant's men should also fancy their chances against the Super Kings, having beaten them twice in the group stage.