IPL 2021 | We probably gave Chris Morris too many easy slot balls in the end, admits Ricky Ponting
Post Rajasthan’s comeback win over Delhi, DC head coach Ricky Ponting has admitted that his side probably gave Chris Morris too many easy slot balls in the last five overs. Ponting also pointed out that it was a mistake on their part to not bowl out Ravichandran Ashwin on the night.
Just like other teams in the past two days, Delhi had the upper hand over Rajasthan in their clash at the Wankhede Stadium. Not only did Chris Woakes make a telling impact, but Kagiso Rabada also returned to wicket-taking form in the powerplay, to shock Rajasthan at 17/3, chasing 148. When a crafty Ravichandran Ashwin was brought into the attack, it was probably the biggest test on the night for David Miller and Riyan Parag.
The off-spinner weaved magic and was one of the toughest bowlers on the night to hit against, conceding no boundaries in his three-over spell. However, what was astonishing was the off-spinner never got to bowl another over, with Rishabh Pant insisting to go with Marcus Stoinis, the fall of Delhi on the night. Eventually, with a help of too many slot deliveries, as Ricky Ponting called it, Delhi found themselves on the losing side.
"We probably gave him (Morris) a few too many easy balls, a few too many slot balls if you like," Ponting said in the post-match press conference.
"The length wasn't quite where it needed to be. If you look at the replay of the game, if you bowled a reasonable yorker, he didn't score off them. If it was back of a length, sort of, above stump high, he didn't get hold of them either, especially with pace on the ball. We talked about how to bowl to him, but the execution probably wasn't there,” he added.
Another error that crept up for the Delhi side was the utilization of Ashwin, which Ponting called was a grave mistake from the franchise, with the off-spinner not being bowled out.
"That's (Ashwin bowling just three overs) certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team," he added.
"He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn't even conceded a boundary. He had a disappointing game in game one, but he has worked really hard in the last few days to make sure he adjusted and got things right in this game. I thought he bowled beautifully tonight. Probably a mistake on our behalf, and something we will be talking about later on," he added.
Delhi stunned one and all, when they announced the playing XI, with had Shimron Hetmyer missing out on a spot from the playing XI, with Kagiso Rabada returning to the playing XI. On the other hand, the franchise also handed the debut cap to Lalit Yadav, a player who has been hailed highly by the franchise since the last year.
"We made the two changes from game one to game two obviously with Rabada being available for selection. He had to come straight back into the side and we're looking to try and get the right balance. At the moment with Axar Patel not available for selection, our balance is out a little bit, so we tried to sort of mix and match things a little bit today. We also wanted to give Lalit Yadav an opportunity and show us what he's capable of in the middle,” he concluded.
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