[Watch] "Chin up"- Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting gives motivating dressing room speech to players after defeat to PBKS in IPL 2024 opener

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting gave players a motivating speech in the dressing room after their loss to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2024 season opener.

After a dismal 2023 season with only five wins and 14 games, DC looked in the mood to set things right, racing to 39/0 in three overs in their batting innings. However, wickets tumbled at regular intervals before a late surge by Impact substitute Abishek Porel helped them reach 174/9 in 20 overs.

In reply, PBKS hunted down the target in the final over with four balls and as many wickets to spare.

After the game, Ponting was upbeat when addressing the players, pointing to several positives like the opening partnership, Shai Hope's batting, Porel's finish, and Kuldeep Yadav's spell.

However, he also pointed to the mistakes, especially the batting in the middle overs, as to why DC was constantly chasing the game.

Here is a video of Ponting's dressing room speech after DC's defeat in the season opener:

The win was massive for PBKS, who have not qualified for the playoffs since their final run in 2014.

They were led by the English duo of Sam Curran (63 off 47) and Liam Livingstone (38* off 21) in their run-chase, with the former winning Player of the Match honors.

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Rishabh Pant was back to competitive cricket after a lengthy layoff

Despite the defeat, Delhi Capitals and cricket fans worldwide were overjoyed to watch Rishabh Pant back in action after a long layoff due to injury.

The 26-year-old suffered a horrific accident in December 2022, resulting in multiple injuries that kept him off the field for the last 15 months. However, Pant finally returned after a lengthy surgery and rehabilitation process to lead the DC in their IPL 2024 opener after missing the entire last season.

The swashbuckling batter looked in terrific nick during his 13-ball 18 with two boundaries and also moved swiftly behind the stumps. Pant effected two dismissals, including a stumping to remove fellow wicketkeeper-batter, Jitesh Sharma.

He last played professional cricket in test matches of India's tour of Bangladesh in December 2022, days before his unfortunate accident.

DC will hope that their skipper can slowly work his way back to peak form and resurrect their sinking ship since last year. They will take on the Rajasthan Royals at home in their next outing on Thursday, March 28.