IPL 2024: ‘Under pressure, a lot of plans went out the window,’ says Ponting on DC’s bowling woes ahead of GT clash

Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting said the lacklustre bowling effort against Sunrisers Hyderabad holds plenty of lessons for his team ahead of the IPL 2024 encounter versus Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.

“The thing that was very evident to me last game is that we probably didn’t cope as well under pressure as we would have wanted,” Ponting said.

“I think when we got put under pressure the most, a lot of those plans went out the window and it looked like we were confused with what we’re trying to do,” he added.

A major issue plaguing the DC bowling attack has been the ineffectiveness of Anrich Nortje, who has an economy rate of 12.94 this edition, with only six wickets to show.

“The last two years, Anrich has been coming off long-term injuries. Ahead of the season, everything looked to be going reasonably well, but as the games have gone on it’s been evident to us that he isn’t 100 per cent,” the coach said. “We gave him a few games off and I thought he bowled well last game.”

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Ponting also had words of praise for Abhishek Porel, who has played the role of an impact player well for the team this season, stepping up to bat at any slot in the order.

“Abhishek has played number three for us on occasions this tournament. He’s a potential star of the future. He’s learning every day and he’s got a touch of class,” the former Australian Captain said.

“I think with this impact model, you’ve got to be prepared to bat anywhere between three and eight. He batted at nine for us against the Punjab Kings and played well. That goes to show that he was prepared,“ he reckoned.

In the opposite camp, Gujarat Titans batter David Miller downplayed the middle-order issues the team has been facing.

“I don’t think there are any issues in the middle order. I think, throughout the tournament, we’ve done what we needed to do,” Miller said.

“We’ve had a few close games that we have won and a few we’ve lost. This year, the table is tight, it’s just about getting back to basics and feeding off each other,” he added.