IPL 2020: 'I am not sure why Ashwin went out of the attack after taking Rohit Sharma's wicket' - Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals (DC) coach Ricky Ponting has stated that he has not spoken to captain Shreyas Iyer regarding why Ravichandran Ashwin was removed from the attack after having dismissed Rohit Sharma in his first over.

He made this point at the post-match press conference after the Delhi Capitals' one-sided loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Ricky Ponting started by pointing out that the Delhi Capitals were playing catch-up right after the first over, in which Quinton de Kock smashed Daniel Sams all around the park.

"It was mainly our execution thorough our first few overs. The first over went for 15 or 16, so we were on the backfoot pretty much straightaway there."

The former Aussie captain observed that although the Delhi Capitals bounced back in the middle overs, the bowlers failed to execute their plans at the death.

"We did fight our way into the game, the overs 7 to 14 were sort of in our favour, I think they were only around 120 for 4 at the time, so we were hoping for a 170 sort of total but our execution in the last 4-5 overs was miles off from where it needed to be."

He elaborated that Hardik Pandya was delivered the ball in his hitting areas, and stated that Ishan Kishan has taken the game away from the Delhi Capitals in all three of their encounters against the Mumbai Indians this year.

"We continually fed Hardik Pandya where he wants the ball. Ishan Kishan kept getting away from us and he has played well against us in all the games we have played against MI so far in this season."

On being asked why Ravichandran Ashwin was removed from the attack after dismissing Rohit Sharma in his first over, Ponting responded that he has not yet had a discussion with Shreyas Iyer regarding the same.

"I am not sure why exactly he might have gone out of the attack. I think Rabada bowled the 3rd or the 4th over. I haven't asked the question of the captain yet."

He added that it is easy to point out a mistake later, and that the Delhi Capitals team management backs every decision taken by their captain.

"One thing I know is that hindsight is a wonderful thing in our game. I am sure the captain had all the right intentions in decisions he made on the field and we back all those decisions day in and day out."

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Ricky Ponting on the Delhi Capitals batting effort

The Delhi Capitals top order was blown away by the Mumbai Indians pacers [P/C: iplt20.com]

Ricky Ponting was further asked about the disastrous start to the Delhi Capitals chase. He replied that the Mumbai Indians bowlers deserve credit, as Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane got out to good balls while Shikhar Dhawan received an absolute peach from Jasprit Bumrah.

"If you look at the dismissals, Prithvi looked like he got a good ball. Ajinkya also got one that swung back nicely. The execution of Bumrah's yorker to Shikhar was absolutely first-class."

Quality fast bowling by @Jaspritbumrah93 and @trent_boult.Superb execution of using the seam position, be it angled seam or upright seam. They have managed it beautifully so far. #MIvDC #IPL2020

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2020

The Tasmanian acknowledged that the Delhi Capitals were outplayed by the Mumbai Indians in all departments of the game.

"They executed better than us, it is as simple as that. I mean right through the game with all aspects of their game they were better than us, they outplayed us and that's three wins they have had over us in the tournament so far."

This match has been intoxicating. You don't need a drink. The cricket from @mipaltan has been unbelievable

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 5, 2020

Ricky Ponting signed off by pointing out that the next game is round the corner for the Delhi Capitals and that they will have to pull up their socks quickly.

Check the IPL 2020 playoffs schedule here.

"We have got only a couple of days before we have got our next challenge. We have got to assess as a group and dig really deep and find ways to get better in a short period of time."

The Delhi Capitals will cross swords with the winners of tonight's clash between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2020. They would hope to come up trumps in that encounter to get another shot against the Mumbai Indians in the title decider.