Our execution was miles off, says Ponting

Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting said his side planned well for the match but their execution was “miles off ” which led to the defeat against Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians secured a spot in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after thrashing Delhi Capitals by 57 runs in Qualifier 1 here at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.

“I think it was mainly the execution in the first few overs. In the first over, we went for 15 or 16 and you are on the back foot straight away. We did fight our way back into the game... We felt that we planned really well but under pressure, our execution was miles off,” Ponting said during the post-match press conference.

Sent to bat first, Mumbai Indians put up a total of 200 runs on the board with Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan scoring 51 and 55* respectively. Delhi Capitals’ Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets in the match.

Chasing the target, Delhi Capitals got off to a very poor start as their first three batsmen — Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane — went back to the pavilion on a duck.

Delhi Capitals only managed to score 143 runs with Marcus Stoinis being the highest rungetter from the team, playing a knock of 65 runs.

Ponting said performances from Stoinis, Axar Patel, and Ashwin are the only positives from the game.

“I think he (Stoinis) showed today how classy player he is. He has really developed his game against spin bowling. It is great that we got something out of the game. He got some runs, Axar Tatel played really well at the back and they are the only real positives, including Ashwin’s bowling spell,” he said. —

In the fIrst over, we went for 15 or 16 and you are on the back foot straIght away. — Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals coach