Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting doesn’t think the team management’s decision to send Marcus Stoinis at number three backfired against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) on Wednesday (October 13) in Sharjah.
Stoinis was inserted into the Delhi Capitals (DC) playing XI for Qualifier 2 on Wednesday for the first time since he injured his hamstring while bowling on September 22.
The Australian all-rounder hadn’t played cricket for the last three weeks, and played a sluggish knock of 16 runs off 23 balls and DC could post a below-par 135/5 on the board against KKR in Sharjah.
Well, DC bowled brilliantly, but KKR somehow managed to overhaul the 136-run target in 19.5 overs in Qualifier 2 after the final over drama to win Qualifier 2 by 3 wickets and reach the IPL 2021 final.
Following the heartbreaking defeat, Ponting was asked if ignoring Steve Smith for Stoinis and sending the all-rounder at number 3 backfired, as he didn’t appear fully fit, but the DC coach denied it by saying the move was right, but they didn’t get the outcome against KKR.
Ponting said after the match, “No, I don't think so. We thought long and hard about where Marcus's best bet would be the batting order for us today. I mean, as we all are aware, he missed about three weeks with a hamstring injury, so he hadn't played any cricket. We desperately wanted him back into the team today because we knew he could bat at the top of the order and bat down at the death if required.”
The Aussie also pointed out that pitch in Sharjah was tough to bat on for the new players. He explained, “As you saw today, with that type of pitch, it's really difficult for any new batsman to come in and start on. Even Shikhar at the top didn't get away from the flier that we were after. Middle-order players, Indian players even struggled to get going on that surface. So, I think it was the right decision. We probably didn't get the outcome that we were after, though.”
The DC also mentioned that the conditions changed dramatically in the second innings while hailing KKR batter Venkatesh Iyer’s gutsy knock of 55 runs off 41 balls in Qualifier 2.
Ponting stated, “As you would have noticed watching the game, the conditions changed dramatically from first innings to second innings. I mean the first probably 10 overs of their beginnings, when they had a newish ball and dew was on the ground, certainly made batting look a lot easier than what it seemed for our guys, but that's more the reason why we had to make more runs than we did in the first innings.”
He signed off by saying, “Not trying to defend them... but well done to the opening stand today for KKR, thought they did a great job and I think they have actually found a really good player in Venkatesh Iyer. He looks like someone that could be a terrific player for Kolkata and maybe even India in the future.”
(With ANI Inputs)
