"Didn't think that was clever batting" - Michael Vaughan on Mitchell Marsh throwing his wicket away in DC vs SRH clash
Former England captain Michael Vaughan reckons that Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Mitchell Marsh should have batted longer during the team's IPL 2023 contest against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, April 29.
Vaughan pointed out that Marsh had hit a six off the first ball of Akeal Hosein's over and suggested that the batter should have avoided playing yet another lofted shot on the very next delivery.
Marsh perished while trying to attack a tossed-up ball from the left-arm spinner. He only managed to get a leading edge and was ultimately caught by Aiden Markram in the 14th over of Delhi's run chase at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Speaking about the player's shot selection on Cricbuzz after Delhi's nine-run defeat, Vaughan explained:
"Mitchell Marsh just put the ball into the stands and tried to do it again. I know it's T20 cricket and the ball's got to travel, but I didn't think that was clever batting. Mitchell Marsh had to just take it a bit deeper.
"He'd already put the bowler under pressure. He didn't have to take the next ball. That was a bit straighter, clever bowling because he bowled it a bit slow, but I'm not too sure Mitchell needed to take that challenge on the ball after."
Marsh was the top performer for Delhi in the contest, picking up four wickets and scoring 63 runs. DC were in a commanding position after the right-handed batter stitched together an impressive 112-run stand for the second wicket with Philip Salt.
However, it was all downhill for David Warner and Co. once the two set batters got out. The side eventually finished at 188/6 after 20 overs, failing to chase down Hyderabad's 198-run target.
"He was controlling the game and the Sunrisers were petrified of him" - Michael Vaughan on Mitchell Marsh's batting exploits
Michael Vaughan further stated that Mitchell Marsh would be dejected after failing to lead his team to victory in the encounter. He noted that the Aussie often backs himself to finish the game, but failed to do so this time around.
The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Marsh would also question his own shot selection, given that he was batting exceptionally well and had put the opposition on the backfoot foot with his scoring rate.
Vaughan added:
"I think that was a big performance for him. He will be disappointed because I think he values himself to be there at the end and win games. The fact that he didn't see his team over the line from the position of huge strength, I think he would be disappointed. He will also be disappointed with the shot. Even though they lost Phil, he was controlling the game and the Sunrisers were petrified of him."
Mitchell Marsh won the Player of the Match award for his outstanding all-round performance 👏
📸: IPL
#IPL2023 #DCvsSRH #Cricket https://t.co/Vwy17DRsXs
While DC lost the game, Marsh was named the Player of the Match for his all-round heroics. Delhi slumped to their sixth loss of the season. With just two wins from eight games, they are currently reeling at the bottom of the points table.