Xtra Time Web Desk: Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting on Monday warned Mumbai Indians that Delhi Capitals will be aiming to play their “best game” in the decider. Having lost all three encounters against the Mumbai Indians this season, the Delhi Capitals go into the final showdown as the underdogs, but Ponting believes his team has the ability to end the tournament on a high.
Speaking ahead of the Final, Ponting said, “I had pretty high expectations coming here (UAE). I knew we had put a really good squad of players together. We had a great start, but things got a little bit shaky towards the back-end, but the boys have managed to play two really good games out of their last three, and hopefully we can play our best game in the final.”
Ponting sent fellow Australian Marcus Stoinis up the order against SRH in Qualifier 2, a move that worked for his team, and the Australian veteran believes Stoinis provided his team with a “presence in the powerplay overs”. He said, “The way our team balances worked out in the first part of the tournament with Prithvi and Jinks both being there, made it difficult to get Stoinis up the order. But everytime he (Stoinis) has been given an opportunity in the tournament, especially if he went in with 10 or 12 overs to go, he played really well. He opens in the BigBash, and I’ve seen some amazing innings from him back in Australia at the top of the order. I think he’s vastly improved in the past 12 months and we are all starting to see how good he can be with the bat and the bowl and even in the field.”
“With him up the order, it was a much needed presence in the powerplay overs, and that helped us as well. The SRH bowlers knew that if they missed their mark, he (Stoinis) would not let the opportunity to score go. And Shikhi (Dhawan) has probably had his best season ever in the IPL this time, and these are good signs for us. And we still haven’t got the best out of Rishabh in this tournament – so if he happens to fire in the final, I think we’re capable of making a really big score,” added the 45-year-old.
Asked about what he will be telling the team ahead of the final, Ponting said he would want them to enjoy the moment and embrace the pressure. “Just enjoying it for what it is. It’s not an easy thing to do to get into the IPL final – that’s what I told the boys last night. There are people who have played a lot of cricket but never made to one IPL final, but thankfully I’ve coached one before and was part of a team that won. So I know what it is like to be there, but the most important thing in these big games is to not try to hide away and say it’s just another game, when actually it’s not – it’s got more to it. You’re actually better off enjoying it and trying to embrace the extra nerve that comes with a final,” expressed Ponting.