Delhi Capitals (DC) might have missed the IPL 2020 title glory but head coach Ricky Ponting said he is “extremely proud of his players and their performance” in the recently concluded 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates.
On Tuesday, November 10, DC were thrashed by 5 wickets by Mumbai Indians (MI) in the final of the IPL 13 who clinched their record fifth title at Dubai International Stadium. It was for the fourth time when Capitals surrendered to MI in the tournament and Ponting said it was hurting him.
However, there were a lot of positives for DC this year from Shikhar Dhawan’s form to Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada’s emergence and most importantly the rise of Shreyas Iyer as a leader.
Last season, Iyer captained the Capitals to the playoffs, and this year, bettered it by finishing the IPL 2020 campaign as runner-up and Ponting is highly impressed with the captain, saying Mumbaikar has grown in stature in the last 12 months and hoping to work together sometime again.
The Australian great also thanked the organizers for successfully hosting the event in the UAE amid the COVID-19 pandemic across the world.
Ponting said in the post-match interview: “MI has been the best team; they've beaten us 4 times. Being a coach it's a little frustrating in the dugout but at the end of the day, I'm really proud of the job the boys have done. I think we have the youngest squad in the tournament and I'm extremely proud of them.”
He further added, “Iyer is a brilliant player, captain, and person. He's definitely grown in stature in the last 12 months. Hopefully, we can work together a bit more in the future.”
The coach signed off by saying, “We probably had 3.5 weeks of prep before the tournament, so we had a little too much preparation. We had a really challenging tour, I was skeptical about leaving Australia, but the organizers have done a terrific job.”
(With ANI Inputs)
