Ricky Ponting under fire as cricket fans shout IPL ‘terrible’ move

Cricket fans are once again questioning leadership Ricky Ponting and David Warner after Delhi Capitals slumped to their sixth defeat of the IPL season on Saturday. Mitch Marsh produced a brilliant all-round display against Sunrisers Hyderabad as he took four wickets and blasted 63 off just 39 balls.

But his heroics were not enough to prevent the Capitals from suffering yet another defeat that has seen them rooted to the bottom of the IPL ladder at 2-6. Fans have been left bewildered by the disappointment of a formidable team – led by Australians Warner (captain), Ponting (coach) and Shane Watson (assistant coach).

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Ponting came under particular scrutiny on Saturday when he dropped an out-of-form Privthi Shaw before not sending Axar Patel down the order when the game was slipping away. Chasing 198, the Capitals were 1-0 when Warner picked up a duck and fell to 4-125 when Marsh was dismissed.

But with 69 required off the last 36 balls, Ponting opted not to send the big Patel and kept him in his usual spot of No. 7. Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg and Sarfaraz Khan were all sent in ahead of Patel, scoring one, 12 and nine.

When Patel came to the crease, the Capitals needed 68 off 26 balls and he went on to explode with 29 not out off just 14 balls. However, his efforts went in vain as the Capitals ran out of balls and ended up with 6-188.

The fans were very critical of Ponting’s decision to keep Patel in the fences for so long considering the pace required. One pundit wrote on Twitter: “How can Delhi Capitals have Ricky Ponting and Saurav Ganguly, two of the best captains ever in their support staff, but still not have the brains to send Axar Patel down the batting order? I don’t even know what was going on in their brains.”

Another wrote: “Is it right to fire the entire coaching staff in the middle of the season? Like Ponting, Ganguly, Agarkar, Watson, Hopes, Amre in coaching and they still sent Pandey, Priyam and Sarfaraz over Axar. The opposition Spinners bowled.”

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Others described the tactical error as “appalling” and “pathetic”, with many slamming it on social media.

Mitch Marsh heroes in vain as Capitals lose again

Marsh scored more than anyone else with a brilliant 4-27, then more than doubled his season’s run tally in a stunning knock that featured six sixes and a four. However, it was all for naught as the Capitals’ misery continued.

“There’s a reason why the IPL is the best tournament in the world. It’s bloody hard to win games,” sighed Marsh, who ended up watching his side go down by nine runs.

“Close games can define a season. Unfortunately, we’ve been on the wrong end of a few, but our spirits are high. There’s still a long way to go in this tournament. We need to start winning, but I have a lot of faith in this group.”

Warner said of Marsh’s display: “Mitch bowled fantastically through the middle overs and was our best bowler, but to miss nine runs is quite disappointing.”

with AAP

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