IPL 2021: "I actually felt we're gonna win in the last over" - Ricky Ponting
Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting said after the team's pulsating thriller against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday he was almost certain that Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer would come through in the last over.
DC had needed 14 runs off that final 6 balls. But that wasn't to be the case. Mohammed Siraj bowled 5 pin-point yorkers and a full toss to defend the total by a hair's breadth. Skipper Rishabh Pant needed to hit a six on the last delivery but could only manage a boundary past the deep-point fielder.
After the game, Ricky Ponting said he was disappointed but also 'very proud' of how Shimron Hetmyer fought back in the last few overs to give his team a fighting chance.
"At the end of the day, we have lost and obviously, I am disappointed and the whole team will be disappointed. But at the same time, I am extremely proud of the way we fought that game. At 4-5 overs to go, we were a long way behind in the game and something special from Hetmyer came and brought us back to a point where I actually felt we were going to win the game in the last over. So, yeah, disappointed but also very proud of the way the boys fought," said Ricky Ponting in the post-match press conference.
The Capitals were in a spot of bother when they needed 46 runs from the last 3 overs. But Hetmyer changed gears at exactly the right moment, scoring 21 runs against Kyle Jamieson in the 18th over. He remained not out at 53 (25) along with Rishabh Pant at 58 (48).
"Pretty hard to say that one individual was the difference" - Ricky Ponting
When asked to pick between AB de Villiers' half-century in the first innings and Harshal Patel and Siraj's yorkers in the 2nd dig as game-changing performances, Ricky Ponting chose neither. He argued that even a fielding effort or a mis-hit could be the difference in such close encounters.
"I think when you lose a game by 1 run, it's pretty hard to say that one individual was the difference. When you lose it by 30-40 runs you pick up a few instances in the game that were the reasons for the loss. But we are talking about a difference of one ball being fielded on the boundary or one ball getting stopped at short fine-leg or getting past a fielder," stated Ricky Ponting.
The RCB are back at the top of the points table after this win, while DC have slipped one place and are placed 3rd.