Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was unhappy with Delhi Capitals' (DC) performance against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the match 69th of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). He said that they have themselves to blame as they could’ve reviewed Tim David’s caught behind to have the upper hand on the game.
DC was eliminated from the IPL 15 after MI thumped them by 5 wickets at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday (21st May).
After posting a fighting total of 159 runs on the board, the Rishabh Pant-led side kept the opposition’s run rate in check and also kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
It’s fair to say that DC had the game under control for most of the time but one decision cost them a place in the playoffs. After Shardul Thakur removed Dewald Brevis (39) in the 15th over, he bowled a peach of a delivery to Tim David and it seemed that the batter nicked it.
The on-field umpire gave it not out and after a long discussion with the Thakur, Pant opted against the review. Replay then showed that David had edged the ball.
The decision to not review was arguably the main reason behind DC’s loss as David then blasted 34 runs in just 11 balls to take the game away from the opposition and help MI end the season on a high.
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Speaking on Star Sports Ravi Shastri wasn't happy with how Delhi Capitals players, apart from Pant and Thakur, approached the moment. He said "common sense demanded" them to grab the chance of taking two quick wickets by opting for the review.
“What does common sense demand? Okay, there's Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur, but what are the others doing there? Common sense demands five overs left, two reviews, Tim David has just come in, you've taken a wicket and you have a great opportunity of taking two wickets quickly. And still five overs to go. And you have the upper hand, you had to take it," Shastri said.
Shastri said that it’ll be a bitter pill to swallow for DC and they can have sleepless nights because they missed a chance to qualify for the playoffs. He added that DC have only themselves to blame and they didn’t deserve to qualify.
“This is a bitter pill to swallow. It's like a balloon that burst above them. They are going to have sleepless nights over this one because it's a place for the playoffs that you've missed out on.
“They have only themselves to blame, nothing else. No excuses, you can't hide behind anything, you lost it, more than Mumbai Indians winning it. You didn't deserve to qualify and RCB do,” he said.
(Star Sports inputs)
