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Delhi Capitals (DC) managed to secure their first victory of IPL 2023 when they beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with four wickets and four balls to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, April 20. Despite the positive result, DC still finds themselves at the bottom of the points table with one win from six games.
However, DC's batting struggles continued as they barely managed to scrape through in their chase of the 128-run target. Their batting lineup, boasting Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, and Manish Pandey, has struggled this season with only skipper David Warner scoring consistently.
During a discussion on Starsports, former Indian cricketer and selector Krishnamachari Srikanth was particularly critical of middle-order batter Manish Pandey. When asked to comment on Pandey, Srikanth refused to answer and said:
"Why are we talking about Manish Pandey? I don’t want to talk about him. The guy shouldn’t even be in the team. Let’s talk about Axar Patel, how he has been in the form of his life and deserves to bat higher. He shouldn’t be in this team. If I was the chairman of selectors, he wouldn't have played."
Pandey has been one of the biggest disappointments over the last couple of IPL seasons after promising much in the early stages of his career. DC bought the services of the 33-year-old at the mini-auction for ₹ 2.4 crores after he was released by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Pandey has managed just 97 runs in four innings so far this season at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 121.25. He scored his lone half-century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a losing cause on April 15.
Pandey was called up to the Indian white-ball team in 2015, and his shining moment came against Australia in Sydney when he smashed a brilliant unbeaten 104 that helped India chase 331.
"I was sitting there in the dugout and thinking it was like getting my first Test run" - DC Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly after their first win of the season
Delhi Capitals (DC) Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly was relieved after the side finally broke their five-game losing streak and beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for their first points of the season.
When asked about the pressure of getting the first win, the former Indian captain compared it to the feeling of getting his first Test run.
Speaking post-match, Ganguly expressed joy over the victory while recognizing the need to improve in the batting department. He said:
"Happy to get off the mark. I was sitting there in the dugout and thinking it was like getting my first Test run. We bowled well before as well this season. But the problem is the batting. We need to go back and look at ourselves and see how we can get better. Spinners bowled well. I know we have not played well and need to find a way to bat better."
Despite the win, the Capitals still find themselves at the bottom of the table with just two points from six games. They will next take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on Monday, April 24.
